Hannah takes to the skies as Colour Pages cover star

KCOM engineer Hannah Matthews is in pole position to become one of the most recognisable faces in Hull as the cover star of the new Colour Pages.

More than 200,000 copies of the classified business and services directory will be distributed across Hull and East Yorkshire featuring Hannah in her hardhat and hi-vis vest scaling a telegraph pole on the front page.

Former plumber Hannah, who has worked as a KCOM field technician for two years, admits it's a strange feeling seeing yourself on the front of the phone book that will soon be in almost every home in Hull.

"It's weird - but in a good way" she laughs.

"I'm looking forward to my copy coming through the front door - but I'm fully expecting to have the mickey taken out of me by my friends now I'm a 'cover star'.

"I'm delighted they picked that photo, it's a great picture. I remember when I was having it taken, the hardest part wasn't climbing up the pole - pole work is easy - it was keeping smiling for all that time!"

While the national Yellow Pages is calling time on its print edition this year, Hull's own Colour Pages is still going strong and this year celebrates its 64th annual edition.

Although the Hull Telephone Department, which would later become KCOM, published its first directory in 1904 the Colour Pages as we know it today didn't come into existence until the 1950s.

It was 1954 when the then council-owned telephone department produced a Golden Pages directory of businesses to celebrate its golden jubilee. The Golden Pages was later renamed as the Colour Pages and has provided an essential link between the people of Hull and its legions of tradesman and businesses ever since.

A flick through the pages of the 1954 directory offers an intriguing glimpse into a bygone era with categories including tripe dressers, clog makers, servants' employment agencies and bagatelle table manufacturers.

Today's classified entries seem a world away from the "wharfingers" and "custard powder manufacturers" of 1954 and have moved with the times to include everything from IT consultants to vehicle tracking systems and trampoline parks.

As well as being in print you can also find the Colour Pages online at colourpages.com