Brenda Blethyn unveils North Shields' Herring Girl statue

The Herring Girl was designed by County Durham's Ray Lonsdale

A sculpture dedicated to the historic herring girls has been unveiled by the actress Brenda Blethyn.

The steel monument, designed by County Durham sculptor Ray Lonsdale, has been installed on the North Shields fish quay.

'The Herring Girl' honours the role women played in fishing industry from the 18th Century to the 1960s.

Blethyn, commonly known for her role in the ITV crime-drama series Vera, said remembering them was "important".

Work on the life-sized figure, funded by local businesses and residents on behalf of the North Shields Fishermen's Heritage Project, was completed earlier this year.

About 300 school children, Lindisfarne musicians Billy Mitchell and Ray Laidlaw, and relatives of former herring girls, were among those at the unveiling on Friday.

Patricia Ditchburn, whose mother, Peggy worked on the fish quay, said it was not widely known how difficult the conditions were.

Patricia Ditchburn's mother Peggy worked as a herring girl in North Shields

She said: "When I was a little girl, she could come home at 10 and get the dinner prepared and ready to cook, then the next lot of boats would be in and she would be away again."

Their job was to follow shoals of herrings along the coast of north-east England, before gutting, salting and packing the fish to sell back on land.

Many would carry creels of fish on their backs, selling them door-to-door and in markets. Some pots were said to weigh as much as six stone (38kg).

Terry McDermott, from the North Shields Fishermen's Heritage Project, said it was "immensely important" the job was recognised.

"They were hard working women, they worked on the western quay in all-weather conditions and they need remembering.

"These girls had a very, very hard life as well as travelling from Stornoway, the north of Scotland to the east of Scotland, and finishing off in the English Channel."

Brenda Blethyn had been asked to unveil the statue

Blethyn added: "Those girls worked outside, through all weathers, when there was no refrigeration on the boats, they had to gut the fish, pack them in ice and salt with sharp knives.

"We think we're a bit hard done by, but nothing compared to those girls. They were heroic."

The installation is one of five that have been commissioned as part of North Tyneside Council's redevelopment of North Shields and the fish quay.