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Why Charedi Jews are flocking to the gritty town of Gateshead

Santa hat on Gateshead's Angel of the North

As the sun rises over Gateshead, the Angel of the North glows like it’s come alive — steel catching the first light of the day. Standing 20 metres tall with a wingspan of 54 metres, it was created by Antony Gormley and unveiled in 1998. Built from over 200 tonnes of steel, it’s a monument to strength, endurance, and the people who once worked the mines and industries that defined this landscape. It was once divisive, now it’s impossible to imagine the North East without it — arms open to the sky