Richard Wylie uploaded this winter scene to JournalLive, showing the sun setting near Newton after the weekend of heavy snow before Christmas.

Send your seasonal photos to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk

Family history buffs in Northumberland are turning to the web.

Northumberland County Council produced a video (below) to raise awareness of the facilities available to people wanting to know more about their ancestors.

It was uploaded onto internet video sharing site YouTube and has got more than 12,000 hits.

Waste bosses are urging Northumberland residents to think green this Christmas.

Northumberland County Council and SITA UK will recycle Christmas trees, cards, wrappings and drink containers.

Household waste recycling centres across the county will be open every day except Christmas Day and New Year's Day, and Christmas trees can be taken along at any time and recycled with other green waste.

One of Northumberland's most historic pubs has been sold after 300 years in the same hands.

The Lord Crewe Arms in Blanchland, which is said to have its own resident ghost, dates back to the 12th century.

It is now part of the J&G Inns chain, having been sold by Christie and Co on behalf of owners the Lord Crewe's Charitable Trust for an undisclosed sum.

Plans to improve transport infrastructure across Northumberland will go before county council leaders early in the new year.

A new report has identified a number of ideas on how to improve the maintenance and upkeep of the county's 5,000km of roads and almost 1,500km of cycle and footpaths.

It also looks at the upkeep of assets such as bridges, streetlights and drains which in total are worth more than £5bn.

Whittonstall First School was closed today due to access problems after overnight snow and sub zero temperatures.

The weather caused traffic chaos for commuters this morning.

A Met Office spokeswoman said: "There is a cold blast coming in and hitting the East of the country. This will be moving on to the West coast later in the weekend.

"We've issued severe weather warnings for the North East and we are expecting more snow and sleet showers and temperatures could drop as low as -5C. There's a risk of frost and there's a risk of disruption.

"People need to keep up with the weather forecasts and take care on the roads."

A co-ordinated approach is being taken across the region to combat any problems facing people in the event of a snow shower.

Corbridge, Riding Mill and Stocksfield weather links »

Northumberland County Council website »

Five men have been jailed for a series of burglaries in Northumberland.

The men, all from Durham, were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court.

Anthony Thexton, 27, Forest Swales Howard, 18, and Christopher Morrison, 26, had pleaded guilty to taking a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) without consent in relation to an incident at Shotton's Transport Yard in Chollerford between January 28 and 29.

The men had also pleaded guilty to burglary in relation to an incident at a farm in Hallington, between January 28 and 29, when quad bikes were stolen.

Whateve rthe weather, John Shotton expects Tynedale to hit back to try-scoring form after last week's London Scottish disappointment

Some National One sides would have settled for running the second-placed promotion hopefuls close in Richmond, eventually losing 34-24, but not Tynedale.

Rugby chairman Shotton said the players and coaches to a man left London frustrated they failed to convert their chances.

We dip into the Journal's archives to get into the festive spirit with some Christmas images from Northumberland's recent past.

Send your seasonal images of the county to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk if you would like to share them on our community sites.

In a delayed first-round tie in the Kicks Leisure Challenge Cup, Stocksfield were beaten 5-1 away by Ashington Colliers whose scorers were Mark Richardson (2), Scott Smith, Marc Pattie and Simon Curry.

The losers' consolation goal was claimed by Ben Pearson and the Colliers will be at Blyth Town in the forthcoming quarter-finals.