'Amazing' disability campaigner to get blue plaque

A woman who campaigned throughout her life for disability rights will be honoured with a blue plaque.

Mary Elsworth Greaves was born in Newcastle in 1907 and contracted polio as a child, which left her severely disabled.

She played a key role in getting the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 passed into law, which made councils responsible for the welfare and housing of disabled people.

The plaque will be installed on her childhood home at 2 Lish Avenue in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside.

The law also gave disabled people the right to equal access to recreational and educational facilities, along with council-provided transport.

Known for her practical and determined approach, she once stated: "I don't want to sit at home having everyone be nice to me.

"I'd rather go out and do things and have people being nasty to me if they feel so inclined, and then I'll fight back."

Whitley Bay North councillor Joe Kirwin said: "Mary Greaves was an absolutely amazing woman, it is because of people like her that we have the disability allowance and blue parking badges.

"Britain would be a much worse place without the achievements of Mary and her contemporaries.

"They really drove forward how disabled people are seen in our society."

Baroness Joyce Quin, who nominated Mary Greaves for the blue plaque, said: "Her crucial role and achievements need to be highlighted, not forgotten."

An event to unveil the plaque on 2 Lish Avenue will begin at 10.45 BST.

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