VINTAGE vehicles will be on view today to herald the opening of a public transport interchange.

Shoppers at the MetroCentre, in Gateshead, can watch a vintage transport parade as part of the ceremony to mark the opening.

Work has taken place over the past 18 months creating the interchange. It includes a travel centre and improved covered bus terminals.

Passengers can gain access to the nearby rail station, riverside car and coach park and the centre's blue mall without being exposed to the elements.

BBC Radio 2's traffic announcer, Sally Boazman, known to listeners as Sally Traffic, will join Gateshead Mayor Councillor Pat Ronan to perform the opening after travelling on a cavalcade of vehicles reflecting public transport down the years.

The parade will set off from Gateshead Civic Centre at 11.40am, before being joined by a horse-drawn carriage from the 1890s and a 1920s Daimler, in Mandela Way.

It is scheduled to arrive at the interchange for the opening ceremony at noon.

During the afternoon, shoppers will be given free trips around the site on some of the vintage buses.

It marks the start of a week of free fun at the interchange, with visits by the MetroCentre's mascots, the Metro-Gnomes, jugglers, stilt-walkers, clowns and unicyclists.

The new MetroCentre Circular bus service will also come into operation today, circling the centre and retail park every five to ten minutes.