WORK has begun on a new £1.5m warehouse which will herald a new era for a once-busy port and breathe new life into a largely derelict area.

North European Marine Services chairman, Sir Tom Cowie, and Sunderland City Council leader Councillor Colin Anderson drove the digger which ceremoniously started work on the 100,000 sq ft warehouse.

The NEMS warehouse on the old Greenwells dry dock site within South Dock in the Port of Sunderland will be completed in two phases - 40,000 sq ft in September and 60,000 sq ft in December.

The warehousing will bring more ships into the port carrying commodities such as metal, coffee and cocoa.

NEMS managing director Charles Bucknall said: "In the early 1970s we saw 4m tonnes of coal exported through the port and a vibrant shipbuilding industry.

"This was followed by a steady decline. Today is the first step in the reversal of that decline.

"More ships will bring in more commodities and this will underpin and create more jobs in the area."

The land for the warehouse is close to the quay, which will provide a quick and efficient way of unloading from ships into the warehouses without the need for road transport.

NEMS has grown rapidly in the last four years from a company with 35,000 sq ft of warehousing to a company which today has 550,000 sq ft.

Port of Sunderland general manager Frank Major said: "We are delighted that NEMS have made a major investment of this kind in the port. This is good news for the port and for Sunderland."