Career
During his officiating career he was based in Darlington, County Durham. Hart reached the Football League Linesmen"s List at the age of 29 in 1977. However, he took another nine seasons to gain promotion to the Referees List.
Once he had made that step up though he made swifter progress.
He became further established and was appointed as one of the first Premier League referees for the 1992-1993 season. Over the next four seasons he handled most of his games at this level
He also took charge of key Cup games, including an semi-final in 1995 in which Everton beat Tottenham 4–1. The following season was his last one as a top-class referee, and saw his greatest honour as he refereed the Coca Cola Cup Final between Aston Villa and Leeds United at Wembley, with the Midlands side winning 3–0.
