The Government has confirmed an extra £71m will be spent to get the former SSI steelworks in Redcar ready for redevelopment.

The Government has already provided £137m to help clean up and prepare the site for redevelopment.

The money has been welcomed by Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen: 'I have always said I would be the first to ask Government for more money when we needed it for the redevelopment of former Redcar steelworks site.

'So, after asking for I’m pleased we will be receiving the £71m to help accelerate its preparation for private sector investment.'

The South Tees Development Corporation aims to create tens of thousands of jobs over the next two decades and will include the world’s first industrial scale carbon capture and storage project.