Behind the scenes at the Sunderland Echo in 1980 as title marks 150th anniversary

Life at the Sunderland Echo in 1980 has been uncovered - in a rare movie kept by a film archive organisation.

The cameras recorded a day in the life of your local newspaper.

The 43-year-old clip has been shared with us in recognition of the Echo's 150th anniversary this month, thanks to the fantastic North East Film Archive (NEFA).

The daily miracle of the Echo

It shows the whole operation of the newspaper, from the adverts to the journalists in the newsroom.

NEFA has described the film as 'the daily miracle of Sunderland Echo hot off the press! An old radical newspaper embraces new computer technology in the daily race against the clock to bring out the Sunderland Echo'. It was shot and edited by Turners Film Productions, and provides an insight into daily life at Echo House, Pennywell Industrial Estate where the Echo was based from 1976.

Pyrex, Brian Clough and Seaburn fairground

A longer 24-minute version of the film, called Sunderland Echo: It's Your Evening, can be found on the NEFA website.

And why not catch up with some of the other films that NEFA has shared with the Echo.

There's footage of Pyrex in Sunderland in 1963, the shipyard scene in 1965, and the Sunderland ferry hard at work in the 1950s.

70,000 archive films

NEFA officials have also previously shared clips of fun at the Seaburn fairground in 1966 and Brian Clough in one of his last matches for Sunderland before the injury which put paid to his playing career.

NEFA has a huge catalogue of over 70,000 items of original film, video tape, and born-digital material. Its team painstakingly preserves, catalogues, and digitises these vital collections of reminders of our past.

NEFA operates the The Yorkshire Film Archive in York, and the North East Film Archive, in Middlesbrough.

If you have cine film of Sunderland and County Durham in the past, we would love to hear from you. Email [email protected] and tell us more.