Suffragette Pankhurst's relative surprised by Carlisle parade

Helen Pankhurst said the unexpected meeting was "wonderful"

The great-granddaughter of a woman who led the British suffragette movement stumbled across a parade commemorating her ancestor's struggle.

Dr Helen Pankhurst was in Carlisle for a book festival when she heard a famous suffragette song being sung and followed the sound of the music.

"It was wonderful, I wasn't expecting it," she said.

Her great-grandmother, Emmeline Pankhurst, led the campaign to win the right for women to vote

Dr Pankhurst. a writer, academic and women's rights activist herself, had just arrived at the train station.

"As we were coming through, I heard The March Of The Women, which I know so well," she said.

"It represents so much about the fight, the suffragettes' struggle, the personal family connection."

Helen Pankhurst stumbled across the parade by accident

The parade, organised by the Celebrating Women Of Cumbria creative project to mark 100 years since some women got the vote, had been rescheduled after bad weather in March.

The 1918 Representation of the People Act gave women the vote - but only those who were over 30 and also owned property.

There have been events across the country commemorating the anniversary.

The song The March Of The Women caught Helen Pankhurst's attention