PRIME Minister Boris Johnson is on the campaign trail in the North East today ahead of the upcoming local elections this week.

Mr Johnson was joined by Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer on a tour around the Hartlepool power station.

There he spoke of his ambitions for the region and said the Conservatives were delivering on their ‘levelling up’ promise.

Mr Johnson said: “Almost exactly a year ago Jill and I were here in Hartlepool and since that time I talked about delivering, I talked about the North East, I talked about our ambitions, and since that time you have seen GE come in with their turbines investment on the Teesside site and the Freeport is going gang busters, Ben Houchen is making great progress there.”

Mr Johnson added that the investment from the Saudis and growth at Nissan in Sunderland were all evidence of how his government was committed to the region.

He said: “You can see investment really coming into the North East hand over fist and it is fantastic to see it.”

More to follow.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054