YORK City have bolstered their squad by bringing in left-back Marcus Williams on loan from Guiseley until the end of the season – one of four new additions today.

Fellow Lions defender Connor Brown has also made his loan move to the Minstermen permanent.

In addition, City have looked to the future by signing 16-year-old talent Vinny Steels from manager Martin Gray’s former club, Darlington.

And that wasn't the end of today's recruitment spree as Whitley Bay striker Alex Kempster – who hit a hat-trick this afternoon in City reserves' 5-2 win over Hartlepool United at Bootham Crescent – became another to earn a deal until the end of the campaign.

Before joining Guiseley last year, 31-year-old Williams had spent a season at Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters after having made over 250 appearances in the Football League for Scunthorpe United, Sheffield United, Peterborough and Reading, but had not featured for the Lions since September.

Brown, meanwhile, played his final game for the National League strugglers on New Year’s Day, and has since featured four times on loan for City before securing his switch.

Both players will link up with former Guiseley assistant manager Dave Penney, now director of football at City.

Winger Steels earned rave reviews at the Quakers, and Gray has expressed his pleasure at his signing, saying: “I am delighted Vinny has agreed to join us because he is a really talented young boy with a lot of potential.

"A lot of top clubs have shown interest in him over the last six months, but he feels that his future is best served by joining York City."

Both Williams and Steels featured in today's Central League North victory, with Williams playing the full 90 minutes and Steels being introduced for trialist Kempster for the final 20.

There was a second anonymous trialist on show up front, but it was Kempster who would grab the headlines with an impressive hat-trick and an assist to help City turn around a two-goal deficit.

Also making appearances were striker Louis Almond – playing his first full 90 since a three-month injury absence – and Clovis Kamdjo, who neared a possible return to the first team following cruciate knee ligament surgery with 71 minutes played.

Hartlepool raced into a two-goal lead inside 11 minutes, with Lewis Orrell striking them in front from the edge of the area before John Weirs doubled their advantage from inside the box after evading a challenge.

Conor Smith got City back on track just after the half-hour mark with a smart header from Kempster's cross, before the same player got the hosts back on level terms with a header of his own from Josh Law’s ball in.

The forward got his second of the game on the hour as he collected a ball from midfield and coolly slotted past the keeper, and Almond’s deflected effort five minutes later consolidated City’s lead.

On 69 minutes, Kempster brought up his hat-trick with a low curling effort from inside the area before being brought off for Steels a minute later.