PETER BARRON, formerly editor of the Hartlepool Mail and now editor of The Northern Echo, gives a personal view on what the mayoral election means for the town

AFTER generations of battling to shake off its joke town image, Hartlepool became justifiably proud of itself.

Going there as an outsider, the town admittedly came as something of a surprise: warm and friendly, with a dynamic community spirit.

Through enterprise, vision and hard work, Hartlepool had undergone a transformation. Millions of pounds were invested, with a marina and the Historic Quay becoming the enviable centrepiece of the town.

The town famed for hanging a monkey suspected of being a French spy in Napoleonic times was no longer a joke.

A few years ago, attempts by the Hartlepool Mail to have a statue of beer-swilling, fag-smoking, snooker-playing cartoon legend Andy Capp erected in memory of his local creator, Reg Smythe, were ignored on the grounds that it was not in keeping with the town's modern, forward-thinking image.

Now, no matter what gloss may be applied, Hartlepool has elected a man in a monkey suit as its mayor. Stuart Drummond may have been the name on the ballot paper but it was his hairy alter ego they really voted for.

Having ditched the monkey suit, Mr Drummond insists he is serious about wanting to drive Hartlepool forward. But the disturbing fact remains, and will remain in the memory for a very long time, that the town elected a monkey as a result of apathy and disaffection with the mainstream parties.

Indeed, there were rumblings of disappointment on the streets yesterday that Mr Drummond, and not H'Angus the football mascot who led the campaign, had emerged from the sensation of the night before.

It was sad to see men like Hartlepool Borough Council's chief executive Brian Dinsdale and economic development chief Tim White - men who have been at the heart of Hartlepool's progress - sitting alongside Mr Drummond at a Press conference yesterday, trying to put on brave faces. MP Peter Mandelson, surely seething underneath that he had been denied a political partnership with close ally Leo Gillen, had spent much of the morning doing just the same.

The spin was that the monkey was dead - long live the mayor. But the truth is that Hartlepool had woken to find itself in a hole - and was desperately trying to find a way out.

Indeed, dumping, if not hanging, the monkey is the only way out. How can Hartlepool be taken seriously any other way?

Hartlepool and its people deserve a vibrant future. It is to be hoped that Mr Drummond, the ex-monkey, can help deliver it with the help of the many good people the town has at its disposal.

After all, the town has climbed out of holes before.