A bid to entice teachers to leave Bradford and head north to Aberdeen has failed dismally - with not one person expressing any interest.

Two education bosses travelled the 330 miles from the granite city to Bradford and set up a special exhibition to proclaim the virtues of life and work in Aberdeen.

But the recruitment day was a disaster for Jean Bell, an education support services manager from Aberdeen City Council, and Sue Muncer, head teacher at the city's Northfield Academy, with no teachers turning up in the six hours they were camped at the Victoria Hotel in Bridge Street.

They were armed with 11 vacancies for various posts, and insisted they were offering people an alternative lifestyle.

Ms Muncer, 48, said: "We are simply informing people so they can make lifestyle choices. We are not offering them anything dramatically different. I understand why authorities might feel resentful, but at the end of the day what we are trying to do is make sure we have got quality teachers."

Ms Bell said she was disappointed by the lack of interest, but added: "I hope that there weren't people out there who felt they couldn't come and talk to us."

The pair admitted the cost of living in oil-rich Aberdeen is higher than in West York-shire, but said it had a number of attractive enticements: open spaces, countryside; culture and a good quality of life.

Ms Bell and Ms Muncer were on the second stop of a four- day roadshow round the north of England, the first organised by Aberdeen Council.

They said Bradford had been chosen because it was a good catchment area for large parts of Yorkshire. Scottish teachers currently enjoy a number of contractual benefits their English counterparts do not - including a guaranteed 35 hour week, and freedom from the controversial SATs testing regime.

The visit sparked some surprise and consternation am-ong teachers' unions.

John Howarth, treasurer of the Bradford branch of the National Union of Teachers, said: "We have sent people from across the world to recruit teachers - Zimbabwe, South Africa and India, so you can't blame them.

"What they are coming with may well be a better deal for our teachers. That is a tragedy for recruiting and retaining teachers in England, and we want employers and the Gov-ernment to listen."

Stuart Herdson, branch secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "I am surprised they have come to Bradford knowing we have a problem recruiting people for our schools."