Thousands of Newcastle United fans gathered outside St James' Park early this morning ahead of their eagerly anticipated trip to face Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby.
In one of the fiercest derby matches in English football, Northumbria Police have taken a series of precautions to reduce the potential for conflict between the two sets of supporters.
As a result, Newcastle fans are being required to take official club travel to the match, and they won't be able to get their match ticket without doing so.
That meant that the 6,000 travelling fans headed to St James' Park bright and early to queue for one of the 120 arranged buses to take them to the Stadium of Light.