Plaque unveiled to mark Chartist death in Stoke-on-Trent

A plaque marking the death of a man who was protesting for workers' rights in the Potteries 175 years ago has been unveiled.

Josiah Heapy, of Leek, was among hundreds of people who gathered in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent in 1842.

He was shot dead when government troops opened fire on the crowds.

The meeting was part of what became known as the Chartist Movement, when workers were asking for equal rights and greater democracy.

Organisers who raised money for the plaque said the event had become known as the Potteries' Peterloo, as people were shot down for demonstrating in the streets, similar to the Peterloo massacre in Manchester in 1819.

Jason Hill, of the North Staffordshire Trade Union Council, said the protest had changed things because it was out of this event that trade unions were born in the Potteries.

He said: "This is important because we have to remember many of the freedoms we have today - the right to vote, right to strike, right to organise a trade union - didn't exist 175 years ago.

"People fought hard to try to win those freedoms and in some cases made the ultimate sacrifice, like Josiah Heapy."

After the meeting, many people were sent to Australia and others sentenced to hard labour.

Chrissie Gibson, a distant relative of Josiah Heapy, said it was so good to see his name being recognised.

"I have been interested in Chartism and in social history so to see his name here, with everybody respecting what he did, it's so great to be part of it," she said.