Monkey gets down to business. But where are the bananas?

Since Hartlepool voted in a 7ft pantomime monkey as Mayor, Stuart Drummond, the man inside the suit, has been attempting to kill off his simian alter ego.

Until 2 May, Mr Drummond was a call-centre worker who based his winning election campaign on his part-time job as H'Angus, Hartlepool United FC's mascot. But he put away his hairy costume on the night of his landslide victory, bought his first proper suit and relaunched himself as Stuart Drummond, the "everyman" mayor.

He is accused of betraying the public over his reinvention as a "straight man" and his failure to give free bananas to schoolchildren – a core manifesto commitment. The monkey legacy is not easy to shake off. Despite the reinvention, some question his ability to bring relief to a disillusioned town that has an unemployment rate of 7 per cent, among the highest in the country.

On the eve of his second month in power, a smartly dressed Mr Drummond, 28, looked as if his transformation to serious politician was complete, sartorially at least. In his mayoral quarters at Hartlepool Civic Centre, he rejected the idea that people felt betrayed by the disappearance of H'Angus. "It is an insult to the people of Hartlepool to suggest they voted to have a monkey for Mayor," he said.

"It was my name on the ballot sheet so it was Stuart Drummond they voted for. Rome wasn't built in a day and I don't have anything to prove to anyone."

Yet he could still slip on his "free bananas to all schoolchildren" pledge. He stands by his promise in principle, but now talks of finding sponsors to fund it, making a symbolic gesture of free bananas for the first week of term or urging schools to fund their own bananas. He said: "I am not suggesting the idea is going to be binned but there are greater issues at hand I want to tackle first."

Harry Blackwood, the editor of the Hartlepool Mail, believes the promise of free fruit is a potential problem. "The bananas were a main plank in his manifesto but I'm not sure if the idea is going to come about," he said. "Even if it was a gimmick, he did pledge it.

"On the whole, the people of Hartlepool were desperate for an independent person in power and now they've got their wish."

With an annual budget of £106m, 70 per cent of which is devoted to education and social services, Mr Drummond's biggest achievement – one he pledged as H'Angus – is the £17,000 he found to keep open a sports centre that was to shut this September.

He said: "It's not a permanent solution but a temporary stay-of-execution until April. I will keep fighting for the centre. The campaign is about giving young people a start in life.

"The root of our problems such as crime and drugs is that the young have nothing to do but hang around street corners and get into trouble. They need places to go."

Dawn Coultas, 30, who voted for H'Angus, was uncertain of Mr Drummond's achievements so far. "I haven't noticed any difference since he was voted in and I don't even know what he looks like without the costume," said Mrs Coultas, who has seven children.

"I know that at my children's school, they were so excited because they were getting a banana. The kids are still waiting so I hope he sticks to his word. I voted for him because he was not a politician making lots of empty promises. I hope he does not disappoint us all."

Ashley Carr, 17, said: "I live in the Manor area where Stuart Drummond is trying to bring about change and I admire him for it. The place is full of smack-heads and no one has anything to do. He's promised to rebuild [the area] which are not the words of a monkey."

Mr Drummond's rise in salary – from £10,000 at the call centre to £53,000 as Mayor – has made little impact on his lifestyle. He still lives with his parents, Alan, a regional manager for Camelot, and Jean, an escort for the disabled. He has not succumbed to the council's offer of a chauffeur-driven car and continues to catch the bus to work every day.

"I am opening the first Hartlepool United game of the season and H'Angus will be there," he said. "Perhaps there should be an air of mystique between us, so we are never seen in the same place."