Good Friday Parade

Communities are gearing up for Good Friday parades in South Shields this week.

The Procession of Witness, organised by the Sunday School Union, will see marchers congregating at Living Waters Church in Laygate at around 9am.

They will then make their way along Bedford Avenue, towards Westoe Road, past South Shields Town Hall and along Fowler Street. They will be joined by Bethesda Church, the Salvation Army and Westoe Baptist Church.

Members from West Harton and Talbot Road Methodist churches will also join the parade, meeting at Grace Place, at the Denmark Centre.

At the junction with King Street, the parade will be joined by marchers from The People's Mission Church arriving via Mile End Road. The People's Mission will be leaving around 9.15am from Mile End Road.

The parade will continue on to South Shields Market Place via King Street.

The traditional Good Friday service will be held in the market square at around 10am. Marchers will then return to their respective churches via the same route. All are welcome to join with the relevant churches for a service and fellowship afterwards.

The Mayor and Mayoress of South Tyneside, Councillor John McCabe, and his wife Julie, will be attending the service in the Market Place.

The Mayor said: "The Good Friday parades are a long-established tradition in South Tyneside's calendar. It will be wonderful to see communities coming together to mark the occasion."

All are welcome to join the procession and attend the service in the Market Place.

A series of road closures will be in place to accommodate the parades. Drivers are advised to follow the diversions. Buses will be temporarily diverted along another route into the town centre for the duration of the road closures.

The parades traditionally held in the Harton/Horsley Hill and West Park areas of South Shields are not taking place this year. Residents are encouraged to contact their local churches for details of any local services or arrangements.