THE life and career of Blackburn's most famous adopted daughter is being celebrated in an exhibition in the town.

Barbara Castle put Blackburn on the map at the height of her political career as a Labour MP in the 1960s.

Born in Yorkshire in 1910 she began her political career in the 1940s and rose through the ranks to become Transport Minister.

While in office she introduced such controversial measures as the legal drink drive limit of 80mg of blood alcohol, the 70 miles an hour maximum national speed limit, and the compulsory fitting of seat belts to cars, although she was unable to pass laws to force drivers to wear them.

But it was the introduction of the breathalyser in 1967 that really thrust her into the public's consciousness, especially as she herself was a non-driver.

She also introduced Child Benefit and equal pay for women in the same jobs as men.

The exhibition features photographs and personal memorabilia from her life, and comes just more than a year after her death on May 3 last year at the age of 91.

In her prime many believed she would be Britain's first female prime minister, and she completed 34 years as Blackburn MP, from 1945 to 1979.

The exhibition was opened by her niece Sonya Hinton who said: "She did not do things by halves. Jack Straw said on Thursday she was not only a complex woman but a paradox - someone who could scare people rigid but who people were very fond of."

Councillor Kate Hollern said: "It makes me so proud to be to be a woman and to be part of the political party in Blackburn. I have never heard anyone say anything but good about Barbara Castle. She was a formidable character who was scared of no one. Her heart and soul were here."

The exhibition will run at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, in Museum Street, until July 12. For more information call 01254 667130.

Buy 'The Authorised Biography of Barbara Castle' on-line now...