PETER MANDELSON and Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling were among those granted the Freedom of Hartlepool at a ceremony last night.

Former town MP and now Business Secretary Lord Mandelson received the honour together with Countdown and Sky Sports host Jeff Stelling and other community stalwarts.

The decision to give Lord Mandelson the honour was taken in November and was surrounded by controversy because some councillors claimed they were railroaded into granting him the freedom by the council’s Labour group.

Hartlepool Mayor Stuart Drummond nominated Lord Mandelson for the honour and recalled the night that despite standing as the town’s football team’s mascot – a monkey – he won the election.

Accepting his award, Lord Mandelson said: “I am absolutely sure I did support you before I offered you my opinion.

“You have to appreciate it was a shock for the team’s monkey mascot to be the first directly elected mayor of the town.

“The advice I gave was ‘drop the monkey costume and fight like a lion for the town’.”

During his speech, Lord Mandelson spoke of his political ups and downs, adding: “The unwavering loyalty that people gave to me in this town was something that literally carried me through those years.”

The other recipients of the award were Wendy McLoughlin, who founded and ran Hartlepool Families First for more than 25 years, and founder of the Pansies Breast Cancer Support Group Isobel Wilson.

Mr Stelling, who was born in the town and supports local causes, said: “I do feel a complete fraud being up here, especially when I see people like Isobel Wilson and Wendy McLaughlin. They are very deserving of their awards.”

He added: “I feel lucky to do my dream job and be handsomely rewarded for it. This is an absolute bonus. I am very fortunate that I am in a position that I can support the town.

“It’s very special to me, not just because I am from Hartlepool, but because I think about how proud my father would have been if he was still here today.

“He lived in Hartlepool all his life and would have been extremely proud and, because of that, I am very proud today.”

■ Former Hartlepool mayor and recently-retired councillor Harry Clouth, and fellow former mayor and councillor Doug Ferriday, will be made aldermen of the borough.