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Conjoined twin sisters dismissed as "freaks" could be the first in Britain to get a blue plaque under a plan to celebrate disability

  A fundraising campaign has been launched in Brighton to commemorate sisters Violet and Daisy Hilton, who achieved worldwide fame as musicians and dancers in the 1920s and 30s

  Born to a 21-year-old unmarried barmaid, they were adopted by a pub landlady and first put on show for money just weeks after their birth

Their fame peaked in 1927 when they were earning $4,000 a week, which was around three times the average annual American salary at the time

As adults they toured the world on the vaudeville and burlesque circuits, singing and dancing, and appeared in two films, "Freaks", which was released in 1932 and "Chained for Life", released in 1952

They were initially exploited by their adoptive mother Mary Hilton and eventually took her to court but only won a fraction of their earnings

  There were rumours that Violet was a lesbian, and it was well-known that her husband, actor Jim Moore, was gay

  Their last show took place in 1961, eight years before they died within a few days of each other in 1969, reportedly from Hong Kong flu

Local historian Alf Le Flohic told the Daily Telegraph that their final years, during which they worked on supermarket checkouts in Charlotte, North Carolina, were their happiest because they "were accepted in a community," he said, adding that Violet's husband Mr Moore said after their deaths that they would "rather be poor than seen as freaks"

  Mr Le Flohic is trying to raise £1,500 to fund the plaque outside Number 18, Riley Road, where they were born

The lack of recognition up until now is partly due to changing attitudes to disability, he said

  "Our attitudes have changed a lot towards disability. When they were born that would have been seen as a moral comment on her lifestyle because she was 21, she was unmarried

It would have been a bit of a shame on the family really.  "You didn't see people like that, ever

These days, you have a much greater sense of people having unusual bodies and being disabled

" He added that he hopes Brighton accepts them as belonging to the city. "As a city that embraces people who don't necessarily fit the norm, they are definitely 'one of us' and deserve to be more widely known in Brighton

"