BEAUTY contests. The very title conjures up images of leggy lovelies teetering awkwardly on the catwalk in white stilettos and swimsuits. Later, after a quick change into big hairdos and long dresses, they'd attempt to impress the judges with their commitment to "world peace" and talk of "helping the disadvantaged".

The competitions, the preserve of seaside towns, were the springboard to the greater glory of the Miss United Kingdom competition, and that holy grail, the Miss World crown. Miss World has survived protests from groups of varying political hues as well as scandals about contestants, and even the ignominy of being dropped, but 53 years on, the contest is still held annually.

There seems to be a bit of a revival at grass roots too, and tonight 20 finalists are taking part in the first ever Miss Durham beauty contest.

Sedgefield Racecourse is staging the event, which has revived memories of the heyday of the beauty contest when virtually every town in the region had its own pageant.

The contests first took off in seaside resorts in the years after the Second World War. The great and good believed they were important in gaining publicity for the town and the North-East soon caught on.

The 1950s and 60s were the boom years for this new kind of entertainment, often billed as "bathing beauty" queen contests. The swimming costume round was usually the most eagerly awaited and sometimes the entire competition was based on that alone. Elsie Baldry took the plunge in 1962 and was crowned Miss Darlington.

"There was no talking or anything, it was purely bathing costumes. You just paraded in one and that was it," she recalls.

Ironically, Elsie, aged 19 when she won the contest at the former Majestic club, was a Mormon Sunday school teacher who entered several beauty pageants. "I did enjoy them," she says. "People say you're big headed and you must think you're beautiful, but for me it was just another competition, like doing a crossword competition in a newspaper."

Elsie saved clippings of all her appearances, but a jealous former husband put paid to that. Now a 61-year-old grandmother-of-six, she says: "I got married six months after I won Miss Darlington, but I didn't go in for many contests after that because my husband didn't approve. I had a scrapbook, but while I was at the Miss Great Britain competition in Morecambe, he burned the lot."

Because beauty contests were held all over the place, entering them wasn't difficult, as Sheila Caygill found out in 1965. She was working in Whitby for just a week and was persuaded to enter a contest at the local pavilion. Aged 18 at the time, she bought ticket to see Brian Poole and the Tremeloes and ended up being crowned Miss Whitby 1965.

"I was just there after work with my friend's sister and we were encouraged to go forward," says Sheila, from Newton Aycliffe. "It was a big surprise to win - I thought the girl who came third was a lot prettier than I was."

While Sheila won the only contest she ever entered, others like Jacqui Tottle became regulars on the beauty contest circuit. She entered her first competition at the age of 17 and won a string of titles in the 1960s and 70s, including Miss Bridlington, Miss Bradford, and Miss Darlington.

She was also crowned Miss Northern Echo, Miss Croft Autodrome and Miss England Football Queen, as well as being a finalist in Miss England, Great Britain and United Kingdom.

Prizes were typically £50 and a wardrobe of clothes, which was Jacqui's main motivation for entering.

"I thought it was an easy way to make a few quid," she says. "It was great fun, but I never took it seriously. I even got some work out of it, I had lots of work through winning Miss Northern Echo and used to go along to promotional events."

Jacqui remembers the competitions being well regulated but adds: "All the girls were very friendly, we had to do lots of rehearsals and it was quite nerve racking. It was a nice atmosphere, quite glamorous and we got lots of freebies."

Now 56 and living in Baildon, West Yorkshire, Jacqui suffered a serious car crash on her way back from a Miss Great Britain heat in Whitehaven, Cumbria, but went on to win one more competition to prove to herself she could still do it.

Beauty contest winners often received a lot of publicity, as Elaine Littlefair found out when she was crowned Queen of Durham in 1964. After the contest in Seaham Hall, the 19-year-old was whisked off to the BBC television studios to be interviewed by Mike Neville.

Elsie, who now lives in Bishop Auckland, says: "I was surprised and shocked to win because there were a lot of pretty girls. There was one girl there who was really beautiful and I didn't dream I would win.

"I was taken to the television studios after I'd won and I was a little bit nervous. I've never seen a recording of myself, but everyone said I did okay."

Beauty contests gradually fell out of favour as the public sought more sophisticated forms of entertainment. Now, it seems, they appear to be making something of a comeback.

The Miss Durham contest takes place at Sedgefield Racecourse during its Ladies Night meeting this evening. The first race is at 6.45pm and Miss Durham expected to be crowned at about 8.45pm.

* To take part in the public vote call the number printed underneath your favourite girl's picture. You will hear a short message before being asked to replace the receiver. Calls cost 50p.