No nudes wasn't good news for Hartlepool in 1993 - and here's why

This month in 1993 and no-one wanted to be a life model in town.

Cleveland College Art and Design art students had to use their imagination as they did sketches in front of an empty chair.

Why? A Hartlepool Mail story at the time explained more.

It said: "Local people are turning down the chance to earn quick cash by posing nude or scantily clad."

Hartlepool’s Employment Service was approached by the town’s art college to help find life models to pose for a group of students.

The paid work involved posing for 20 minutes at a time on Monday and Wednesday evenings but the employment service didn’t get a single applicant.

Julie Watson, a spokesman for the service, told the Mail she was surprised no-one had expressed an interest, as the job was reasonably paid.

"Since we advertised the positions we have not had any applications at all, or even people contacting us to find out more about what would be involved, " she said.

"There is no age limit for applications, although the advert does specify that a mature attitude is essential, and people do not need experience in this field."

The job may have involved baring all – or at least some of themselves – but it was an important role.

Head of visual studies at the college, Allan Francis, admitted at the time: "We have this problem every year, although this has been a particularly bad year for recruitment.

"It is not a joke, it is a very serious job and an important part of an art student’s curriculum."

He said people could wear "a small amount of clothing such as a leotard or a swimming costume".

Art in Hartlepool was not the only topic of news in 1993.

Former England cricket captain Graham Gooch was in town for a sportsman’s dinner and said: “A lot of us made many new friends on our first visit to Park Drive. When you look at that cricket ground of yours, and couple it with the view from the Staincliffe across to the Headland and the Marina, I wonder if you know what a jewel you’ve got developing here.”

A tiny bird rarely seen in the UK landed right at the feet of a town birdwatcher.

The Pallas’s Warbler flopped exhausted beside Tom Francis “after being blown off-course on its journey from Siberia to South-East Asia”.

Hundreds of people - many of them former patients - completed Hartlepool’s Great Hip Walk. Around 500 people took part in the mile-long walk and half of them had already had hip and knee replacements operations themselves.

The charity event was held to raise money for orthopaedic research and more than £7,000 was gathered.

The Greyhound pub and site was up for sale in October 1993. The site was also used for stock car racing in the 1980s.

What are your memories of Hartlepool in 1993? Tell us more by emailing chris.cordner@nationalworld.com