A DERELICT shipyard provided an atmospheric setting for two screenings of cult film The Matrix at the weekend.

Sci-fi fans flocked to the former Pallion premises of Sunderland Shipbuilders, which was converted into a makeshift cinema for two nights, on Friday and Saturday. The rusting shipyard is one of ten themed venues chosen across the country for showings of films in the Stella Artois Screen Tour. Others include Batman in a Gothic monastery, Halloween in a coffin factory, Raiders of the Lost Ark in a disused quarry and Bonnie and Clyde at a former bank.

HORSE DEATH: An injured and distressed horse which collapsed in a stream on a County Durham farm was put down yesterday. Firefighters had attempted unsuccessfully to free the gelding from the stream at Black Dene Farm, Plawsworth, between Durham and Chester-le-Street, using slings and a rope. Due to the horse's distressed condition and on the advice of a vet, the owners agreed to it being put down.

MILITARY MIGHT: More than 70 military vehicles dating from the Second World War to the modern era are on show in the grounds of the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery, in Durham, today. The 30th North-East Military Vehicle Rally also features a working field kitchen, a post-war medical unit and Army radio equipment. The rally, which began yesterday, runs from 10am to 4pm. Admission to the event and on-site parking are free.

BIKER KILLED: A motorcyclist was killed in a crash involving a tractor and trailer travelling in the same direction on the southbound carriageway of the A1 in Northumberland at the weekend. The rider, a Northumberland man who has not been named, collided with the rear of the trailer on a dual carriageway stretch of the road near Shilbottle, at 8.10am on Saturday.

WOODWARD STARS: Edward Woodward is to star in The Cemetery Club, a play by Ivan Menchell, at the Civic Theatre, Darlington, from Tuesday, September 9, to Saturday, September 13. Tickets for the play, which also features Anne Charleston, Michele Dotrice and Shirley Anne Field, cost from £10 to £16.50. To book, call (01325) 486555.

CAR CRASH: Police are investigating an accident in which a car overturned on the southbound carriageway of the A1(M) near the Newton Aycliffe exit, in County Durham. The occupants of the car escaped uninjured following the crash, which took place at about 9am on Saturday.

RIDER INJURED: The air ambulance flew an injured motorcyclist to Newcastle General Hospital suffering two suspected broken arms, following a collision with a car on the A696 near the Waggon Inn, three miles north of Ponteland, Northumberland.

JET-SKIER RESCUED: A man was taken to Newcastle General Hospital suffering from a leg injury after he fell while jet-skiing on the River Tyne. The 20-year-old was rescued from Derwenthaugh Marina, at Blaydon, near Gateshead, yesterday afternoon.