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South Tyneside celebrated inspirational women yesterday to help mark International Women's Day.

The Council hosted a 'Breaking Down Barriers' event at South Shields Town Hall which aimed at connecting local young people with local inspirational women from a range of careers and walks of life.

Schools from across the borough brought along small groups of students, including both boys and girls and of a range of ages, to talk to strong female role models and see how other people have 'broken down barriers' to get to where they are in life.

The event was opened by Councillor Tracey Dixon, the Deputy Leader of Â鶹ÊÓƵ, who said: "International Women's Day is the universal day that connects all women around the world and inspires them to achieve their full potential.

"We wanted the focus to be closer to home and celebrate local women who inspire people each and every day.

"It was fantastic to see the schoolchildren so enthusiastic and getting really stuck in at the event. Each student asked some really interesting questions and we hope everyone left the event having learnt a lot and feeling truly inspired."

"We would also like to thank all the inspirational women for taking time out of their day to attend the event and share their stories on how they've overcome obstacles, broken down their own barriers and advise young people on how they can do the same."

The event took on a 'speed-dating' format where young people had the chance to meet with the different local women for 5-10 minutes, and to ask them questions about their career paths and how they have overcome different obstacles.

Emily Hyde, 28, who works in the Royal Signals support arm of the British Army, and was one of the inspirational women at the event, said: "There are a lot more men in the military so it's a great achievement being in this job and knowing that we can do it too. We bring a lot to the table and break a lot of the friction up between men within the army. People don't expect it when I say I'm in the army but that doesn't offend me, it makes me feel really proud."