A PIONEERING Kent businesswoman who juggled motherhood with a career to kick-start a multi-million pound enterprise has died.

Betty Parkinson, 84, founder of the Human Resources Group, set up the Parkinson Staff Bureau in Spital Street, Dartford, in 1957. The success of the Dartford-based company led to further branches being opened in Chatham, Strood, Dover, Maidstone and Ramsgate.

PSB, as it became known, has since moved from its original site to just around the corner in Dartford's Hythe Street.

The mother-of-two symbolised the very essence of the gender revolution and broke down the barriers of male and female inequality.

A determined and colourful character, her colleagues knew her warmly as Mrs P.

Her son Jack, Human Resources Group chairman, joined the business in 1977 and has built on the family tradition.

Nearly 50 years on, Mrs Parkinson remained on the board of directors and watched as the company she pioneered branched out and became part of 47 joint venture companies with a turnover of more than £70m.

A spokesman for the Human Resources Group Plc said that Mrs Parkinson, who died earlier this month, would be sadly missed by her family, friends, colleagues and associates.