Peters Bakery, in King Street, South Shields, remained open until noon on Saturday, after bosses decided to close due to the bad weather.

At about 7.30pm on Friday ceiling tiles came crashing to the floor and with heavy winds and rain lashing down outside, water soon started to drip through the roof.

A plastic bin was placed in the shop's window to catch the water and the shop was locked up overnight.

But when staff returned to work at 7am on Saturday the situation had got worse. The shop floor was flooded as more leaks had emerged and they discovered electrical cables hanging from the holes in the roof.

Despite being open in the morning, the decision was made to close it at lunchtime.

Flood warnings have been issued throughout North East England and the Met Office has predicted persistent rain, which will turn heavy at times, will continue throughout the region today.

It's expected that more than 40mm of rain will fall.

Already parts of Northumberland have been affected by the storms. Many rivers have flooded leaving motorists stranded and roads have been closed.