THREE North-East railway stations will share a total of £390,101 from the Department for Transport (DfT) to pay for improvements for disabled passengers.

Thornaby rail station receives £282,720; Middlesbrough £93,803 and Yarm £13,498 from the DfT's 'Access For All' fund.

The major work will be carried out at Thornaby where a new £250,000 ramped footbridge will replace the old stepped bridge.

Automatic doors will be installed to the ticket office, an accessible ticket window created for disabled people, while the disabled toilet at the station will also receive an upgrade.

New electronic information displays giving information about train services are being installed at all three stations.

Improvement work on the toilets and work to create similarly accessible ticket windows will take place at Middlesbrough.

Rail Minister Tom Harris said:"These schemes show the determination of government, industry and other partners to improve access to the railway.

"Train operators and local authorities have come to us with plans to make their stations more accessible for disabled passengers.

"And we're helping them to fund improvements such as lifts, ramps, automatic doors, and passenger information systems.

"These may seem like small changes, but they can make a big difference."