A mural honoring suffragette Edith Rigby was removed just days after its unveiling in Preston when city street cleaners mistook it for graffiti and erased it using a jet washer. The artwork, created by Shannon Jackson, depicted Rigby’s arrest during a protest and was painted on the exterior wall of Jackson’s studio.

Shannon Jackson, a 30-year-old fine art master’s student at the University of Lancashire, said she discovered the mural had been removed as she arrived at work. She has since spoken with council officials, who apologized for the incident and acknowledged the mural was “inadvertently removed.” Jackson plans to repaint the piece with a larger and more detailed stencil that further develops the themes of the original artwork.

Edith Rigby, born in 1872, was a prominent figure in the women’s suffrage movement in Lancashire, founding the Preston branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1907. She was known for militant activism, including protest acts such as throwing a black pudding at a member of Parliament and setting fire to a soap manufacturer’s holiday home. In 1913, Rigby was sentenced to nine months of hard labor following involvement in a bombing in Liverpool.

Councillor Zafar Coupland explained that the mural was mistakenly classified as graffiti and expressed regret over its removal. He encouraged artists to collaborate with local authorities in future projects to prevent similar misunderstandings. The council has pledged to review the situation as Jackson prepares to recreate her tribute to the suffragette campaigner.