A permanent tribute is being planned to honour the man credited with being the father of modern journalism.

William T Stead, a famous casualty of the Titanic disaster of 1912, was editor of the Northern Echo for nine years.

He is most famous for his crusade to uncover child prostitution in Victorian England and his 1885 campaign to raise the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16.

Now, an appeal is under way to raise funds to erect a plaque at his former London residence in Smith Square, Westminster.

The current owner has agreed to host the Green Plaque and £1,500 is needed to complete the project.

Stead joined the Northern Echo - then a halfpenny daily - in Darlington almost by accident, after complaining that a letter he sent in had been amended.

He became a regular contributor and eventually edited the paper between 1871 and 1880, leaving to join the Pall Mall Gazette.

His decision to spend a month investigating London's underworld network of brothels on a "secret commission" led to a week-long series of articles dedicated to the Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon.

But he over-stepped the mark and ended up in prison for three months after he bought a 13-year-old girl from her mother and sent her to a brothel.

A pacifist, he continued to preach for peace through arbitration and when he boarded the Titanic in Southampton he was going to America to take part in a peace congress at the Carnegie Hall.

The plaque project is being co-ordinated by Stephen Butt, of BBC Radio Leicester, who is keen to organise an event to mark the unveiling, when it happens.

More information on William Stead can be found at www.attackingthedevil.co.uk.

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