A new used van centre to serve the north east has been opened by Broadway Motor Company.

Situated in Cowpen Lane, Billingham, it is close to Gateshead and Newcastle and is expected to attract buyers from Scotland, Northumberland, Teeside and North Yorkshire.

The new site, on the location of a former Ford dealership covers 1.5 acres in total and has a capacity of around 90 vehicles.

It replaces previous, much smaller Broadway premises in Gateshead.

Broadway Motor Company has been a used commercial vehicle specialist in the UK for almost 30 years with branches in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Stoke on Trent, Rotherham and Derby as well as Billingham.

Ian Griffiths, sales leader, said: “The North East is an important area for used commercial vehicle sales and we are pleased to be able to open these new premises in a prime location, a move very much prompted by strong demand for the kind of vehicles that we are able to offer to customers in this part of the country.

“While the used commercial vehicle market as a whole has been extremely unpredictable over the last year, business for Broadway has remained strong.

"Certainly, the high quality, three year old, one owner stock in which we specialise has been finding a market, often as a value-for-money alternative to a new vehicle.”

Broadway Motor Company is owned by GE Capital.