A WOMAN who found fame as the claimant in the renowned 'snail in the bottle' case is set to have a statue erected in Paisley in her memory.

May Donoghue earned a place in legal history in 1932 when she successfully sued ginger beer manufacturer Stevensons after falling ill when she found a dead snail in a bottle in Paisley's Wellmeadow cafe four years before.

Her actions changed the laws on negligence across the globe as previously, the law had declared there was no legal connection between consumer and manufacturer.

Now Paisley-based artist Mandy McIntosh will use a black and white photo of Mrs Donoghue with her twin granddaughters as the inspiration for a bronze statue.

It will be erected at The Tannahill Centre in Ferguslie Park on May 1, almost 90 years since she found the snail in the bottle.

Mandy said: "There are so few women commemorated in this way that it’s great to help redress the balance a bit. 

"There are more statues of dogs in Edinburgh than there are of women so it’s very fitting that May’s legacy is celebrated in this way. 

"When I first started work on the project my focus was on the snail, but then I realised that actually it’s all about May and what she represents.

"May was ridiculed in the press at the time by people saying she was only pursuing the legal case for the money, but she kept going and won the case.

"She managed to change history.”

Mrs Donoghue was a single mum living in poverty in Glasgow's East End at the time who had lost three children and had one surviving son.

The statue will show Mrs Donoghue holding her twin granddaughters Elizabeth and May, one in each arm, on their christening day in 1952 which is meant to represent the scales of justice, with her holding two equal weights.

Mandy received funding for the project from Renfrewshire Council's Community, Heritage and Education fund, which was launched in 2015 as part of Paisley's bid to be named UK City of Culture 2021.

Mrs Donoghue's granddaughter Maggie Houston-Tomlin, the younger sister of the twins, said she and her siblings were delighted her grandmother will be honoured and plans to attend the unveiling.

She said: "I’m quite amazed by how famous my grandmother has become. But I’m also amazed my father never ever told us about her. I only found out when another branch of the family tracked me down about eight years ago.

“I was four when May died and I do vaguely remember her as does my elder sister Evelyn. She was a bit of a character and a very strong woman."