News in shorts! I had to smile at this story of South Tyneside's cabbies sweating over a clothes problem

Despite lifted restrictions, shorts remained unpopular among cabbies who preferred to stick with long pants.

Drivers shared their sartorial choices with the Shields Gazette and the reasons behind them.

In the sweltering heat of summer 1983, taxi drivers were being invited to “show a leg”.

Restrictions lifted but did it mean knobbly knees on show?

The council had lifted restrictions on dress codes to allow cabbies to wear shorts - and expose knobbly knees - without fear of reprimand.

But drivers were cool about wearing shorts and most of them said they would be keeping their long pants on.

T-shirts and sandals were as far as they would go in the summer strip-off, they added.

‘Anyway, we’ve all got bandy legs’

Three taxi drivers at Station Taxis in South Shields said shorts and flip-flops were out.

Dan Ford said he wore shorts for holiday, but not work.

And Laurie Westall had another reason for not donning the new shorter attire. He added in 1983: “I’ve never seen any of the drivers in shorts - anyway, we’ve all got bandy legs.”

Get in touch and tell us more

Council press officer Peter Gillanders said: “While we always expect our taxi drivers to dress smartly, we have no regulations about uniform.”

Tell us if you were one of the cabbies who were wondering about your Summer attire in 1983.

We would love your memories of life in South Tyneside in the early 1980s and you can share them by emailing [email protected]