SHE was known as the “Saint of the Slums” because of her dedication to good deeds.

And now one Merseyside sculptor is leading a project to have a permanent statue of Kitty Wilkinson in the city.

Kitty was responsible for introducing public wash houses to Liverpool – preventing countless thousands dying from cholera and other diseases.

Terance McGunigle, 45 – who did his artistic training in Florence – and the Merseyside Forum are trying to raise £60,000 to build a 6ft statue of her in carved marble so that future generations know the contribution she made to the city.

Mr McGunigle said: “She was an extraordinary woman who gave a great gift to Liverpool when she set up the first wash house.

“She was from Ireland, but became a Liverpool heroine because of her work.”

Catherine (Kitty) Seaward was born in Londonderry in 1786 and came over to Liverpool with her family three years later.

In 1812, she married a French seaman and was expecting their second child when he drowned at sea.

Soon after that, she married Tom Wilkinson, a former teenage sweetheart whom she had met working in a Lancashire cotton mill.

Together they made the link between poor sanitation and the spread of cholera, and had a boiler fitted at their home in Denison Street.

Mothers from the neighbourhood would visit her to wash their clothes and linen, so she turned it into a wash house and later opened Britain’s first official public wash house, in Upper Frederick Street, to accommodate more people.

She died in 1860, aged 73, loved by rich and poor alike, and was buried at St James’s Cemetery.

Mr McGunigle said the project was designed to provide a unique opportunity for children and young people to learn about sculpture.

He has made a small model of Kitty already, but said that, if they get the funds they need to create the full-size statue, young people could come to his studio and learn about the process of creating a sculpture.

Mr McGunigle, who has a studio on Linacre Lane, in Bootle, said: “There used to be a sculpting culture in the city. There were four or five studios at the turn of the century. Now we’ve got none, except me.

“I want to invite schools to come and watch and learn from what’s being done.

“We estimate the cost of the project will be £60,000, including labour costs, but it still depends on the cost of materials.”

Organisers would like to display Kitty’s statue in St George’s Hall or somewhere within the city.

Mr McGunigle has previously created a statue of Kitty for the Vauxhall Neighbourhood Council.

TO MAKE a donation, cheques should be made payable to Merseyside Forum, 114, Linacre Lane, Bootle, L20 6ES or contact merseyforum.kitty_wilkinson @hotmail.co.uk