Local legend Sting captured travelling on Tyne and Wear Metro

Music legend Sting was pictured taking a trip on the Tyne and Wear Metro to receive his Freedom of North Tyneside award.

The Wallsend born musician, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, travelled from Monument in Newcastle to North Shields on the public transport system.

Sting headed to the Exchange 1856 building in North Shields, where he collected his Freedom of the Borough award.

He posted photos of his Metro journey to his official Facebook and Instagram pages.

A post on his social media profiles even detailed a slight hiccup where Sting and his guests initially found themselves on the wrong train – but in the end they made it to the venue on time after changing trains to head the right way.

Having travelled by Metro to be there, he told a packed auditorium that he was very proud, that he owed North Tyneside a great deal, and that it brought him "full circle" back to the place where he once dreamt of a life in music.

Customer Services Director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said: “It was fantastic to see that Sting chose Metro on his most recent visit back to his native North East England."

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“He was here to collect the Freedom of the Borough of the North Tyneside, so hopped on the Metro in Newcastle city centre for the short journey up to North Shields.

“He may even have noticed he features in the Famous Faces artwork at Monument Metro station alongside other iconic figures from the region.”

Sting rose to prominence as the frontman for The Police before forging a successful solo career, selling over 100 million albums from his combined work with The Police and as a solo artist.