Northern has issued advice for parents travelling with children this half-term.

The train operator has reminded parents that children aged five to 15 travel at half price, while those under five travel free with fare-paying passengers.

Families planning a series of activities are encouraged to consider a Rover ticket, which offers discounted travel for seven consecutive days.

This allows families to 'hop on and hop off' during the holidays.

For smaller groups of two, Duo tickets offer a 25 per cent discount when bought and used together.

Northern has also reminded those planning to take their bikes on a day out that storage space on-board is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, with a maximum of two bikes allowed on each train.

Matt Rice, chief operating officer at Northern, said: "The half-term holidays are a great opportunity to get out and explore the region, and by leaving your car at home, you can relax, enjoy the journey and rake in the savings.

"Our trains call at more than 500 stations across the North of England, so wherever you’re going we can help get you to where you want to be."

The train operator has also reminded customers in Cumbria, North Yorkshire, and Tyne & Wear that some services operate as 'dry trains', where no alcohol is allowed on-board.

These services are the 7.44pm from Whitby to Middlesbrough; the 7.23pm and 9.25pm from Newcastle to Carlisle; and the 7.09pm, 8pm, 9.06pm, and 9.49pm services from Carlisle to Whitehaven.

Mr Rice added: "For some time now, we’ve operated a very small number of our services as ‘dry trains’ based on previous experience of people getting rowdy and unfortunately causing trouble.

"We didn’t take this decision lightly, but it is for the safety of all our staff and other passengers, especially those travelling with children."

The train operator has also suggested that parents consider downloading the British Transport Police 'Railway Guardian' app from the App Store or Google Play.

The app allows users to report suspicious behaviour on the rail network, share journeys with trusted contacts, and access news, guides, and support.