Teachers across the region are are staging a 24-hour strike. They are involved in a national dispute with the government over school funding. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said children's education was being put at risk.
Hundreds of people have attended an NUT rally in Durham in support of a national teachers' strike over what they claim is inadequate funding.
Education Secretary Nicky Morganhas said the strike will "harm children's education" and "damage the profession's reputation in the eyes of the public".
"I would personally like to thank the local community for their amazing donations of food, toiletries and clothing. "
Owners John and Irene Hays say there is ''light at the end of the tunnel'', after the pandemic forced them to close 650 UK stores.
There has been resistance to calls to dismantle memorials to the explorer.