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Eighteen-year-old William Hanson from Nailsea has an unusual hobby for a 21 Century teenager which has gained him quite a lot of attention.

Ever since his grandmother gave him a book as a present for his 12th birthday, William has been obsessed with something which is very much associated with the Golden age of the 40s and 50s -  manners and etiquette.

William has since appeared on The One Show where he showed host Dominic Littlewood how to set a table properly and been featured in numerous local newspapers and magazines.

He has also turned his hobby into a job. He has a manners podcast on itunes and teaches between 20 - 30 lower year students from Clifton College how to behave in certain situations as well as how to set tables correctly.

Although he attends the school as well, students' parents who have known him for years can act differently around him as soon as they know what he teaches - one parent even said he was scared of him.

William was on The One Show in March

"I hope it wouldn't make too much of a difference (in terms of peoples' perception of him) as I haven't suddenly changed.

"People shouldn't be scared of me - I'm not a monster."

Etiquette Kid

Family and friends are proud and supportive - however he has picked up a few nicknames which include Mr Manners, Etiquette Kid, Minister for Manners and Hyacinth Bucket.

"It's all relevant - when I'm at home I don't worry. Sometimes I eat in front of the TV with my food on my lap. If I go to someone's house and they've set the table and it's slightly wrong I wouldn't point it out.

"As long as you know about manners and when to use them that's fine."

Hyacinth was famed for her manners

William said he loves manners because he's interested in how humans relate to each other and why.

He loves meeting new people from all backgrounds. His friend jokes with him that he can't walk down the road with William because he stops and chats to so many people.

"I love knowing peoples' stories. It doesn't matter what they do."

'Free - range children'

So what is the difference between manners and etiquette? The basic principle of manners is that everybody deserves respect. Etiquette is how you do put manners into action. For example in football, there are certain things which always happen, e.g. the way the players shake hands before a final. This is football's etiquette. 

"It affects everyone from toddlers to OAPS. The basics are about treating people with respect, common sense and logic," said William.

"Some people are inverted snobs - they deliberately don't have any. To me there's no such thing as a class system. I prove that you don't have to be from the English Aristocracy to have good manners."

He has taught Scout Groups and students

William's mother used to work for House of Fraser while his father is a property developer. They are both extremely proud of him however they do things to deliberately wind him up, as does him brother James, 15.

"My grandmother was of a different generation to me. Every time something was wrong it was pointed out. You had to earn your parents' respect and manners and etiquette are linked into that."

And it's that older generation which William seems to fit in best with. His favourite TV programme is (not surprisingly) Keeping Up Appearances.

He said there isn't anyone currently in the public eye nearer his own age who he can relate to as someone with good manners "which is a shame and reflects the state we're in".

"I think we've dumbed down too much. People are afraid to say when things are wrong. As my Grandmother says, there's too many free-range children."

Famed as a period of liberation, William suggests the swinging sixties could be partially to blame for the loss of manners in English society.

"People do know what is good or bad, it's just they forget sometimes. To stand up and correct someone is to stand against society. You can't teach everyone."

But William will definitely give it a go.