IT will be a case of to Russia with love on Durham's temporary radio station this morning.

Durham Local Radio (DLR) will broadcast a live link-up with a station in Kostroma, the city near Moscow that has been twinned with County Durham for 35 years.

Breakfast show presenter Hugh Evans, the station programme manager, will speak to his Russian counterpart through Olga Zabotkina, who lives in the Durham area.

Mr Evans said: "We'll be linking up to Kostroma from our studio, the Caravan of Love, at 9.20am.

"It will be a little fact-finding mission to find out more about the area.

"I didn't know County Durham was twinned with Kostroma and I think there are quite a few people who are unaware of the link.''

Kostroma, which has a population of 600,000, celebrated its 850th anniversary last year.

Durham Police last week donated ageing surveillance equipment to its Russian counterpart.

DLR, which is backed by a local consortium including The Northern Echo, has been broadcasting on 107 MHz FM since the start of the month on a temporary licence.

The station, whose run ends on Sunday night, hopes to win the permanent licence for a commercial station for the city and surrounding area.