Close friends and family were joined by much of the Whitehawk community for a tearful farewell to the 16-year-old who died of a knife wound last month.

Traffic was brought to a standstill as the lengthy funeral cortege wound its way from Jay's home past Brighton Racecourse and along Lewes Road to the Woodvale Cemetery.

Horses

And tributes were led by Rottingdean vicar the Rev Martin Morgan, who appealed for calm on the Whitehawk estate in the wake of Jay's death.

He said: "I want you to surround this family with the support they need. That support can be summed up in one word - love."

Jay's funeral procession started at 9.30am from outside his family home in Pulborough Close.

His white wooden coffin was placed inside a Victorian horse-drawn hearse, along with a white floral tribute spelling out one word: Jay.

Behind the coffin walked Jay's silent father, John, 40, flanked by his two elder sons, Dean, 19, and Ross, 18, wearing his Army uniform.

As they passed the spot where Jay was stabbed two weeks ago, the three paused to lay a white wreath bearing Jay's name at the foot of the tree where tributes have been placed since his death.

Seconds later, the same spot was passed by a black limousine carrying Jay's mother, Kim, 40, and his 16-year-old fiancee, Cassie Watts, both fighting back tears.

Followed

Another hearse contained a black and white bouquet in the shape of a football.

Round its windows the words "Our Friend" and "Champion" were spelled out in white flowers - in recognition of Jay's prowess with the Marina High School and Whitehawk Under-16s soccer teams.

The car roof was piled high with overlaid floral tributes. One read simply: "Jay, we'll miss you and never forget you, love Daniel, Debby and Sonny".

At the rear, more than 300 mourners solemnly followed, many of them Jay's neighbours, school pals and fellow football team members.

As the cortege made its way past the Swanborough Flats to Wilson Avenue, dozens more people came out to line the streets in respect.

Free double-decker buses were laid on by Brighton and Hove Bus Company at the main road to transport mourners to the cemetery via Warren Road and Elm Grove.

After an hour-long procession past the racecourse and through busy streets, the cortege finally reached the cemetery's elegant North Chapel.

Jay's coffin was blessed in the entrance to the strains of Tina Turner's song Simply the Best.

The service was opened by Mr Morgan, specially requested by Jay's family to conduct it following his involvement with the funeral of murdered father Leigh Shaw.

Quoting a moving tribute from one of Jay's former teachers, he said: "I remember reading one of the cards from a head who said that when she met this lovable person, the one thing she remembered was his smile."

Champion

He added: "This service should be a celebration of Jay's life, short though it was."

One of Jay's favourite teachers at Marina High, Jim Russell, stepped forward to read out several poignant contributions from the teenager's closest relatives and friends.

The first, a heartfelt, intensely personal tribute from his parents, began: "Our son was a champion to us from the moment he was born. Jay was a happy-go-lucky boy.

"He was so special to us. He was the greatest and our memories of Jay will never die.

"He will always be with us and in the memories of his friends."

Amore direct farewell followed: "Jay, you had so much to live for.

"Our love for you, Jay, will stay with us forever.

"Jay, I hope you are up there, looking down and smiling."

Afurther tribute came from the Marina High soccer team, in praise of the 7-4 victory Jay clinched for them with a four-goal run the day he died.

They said: "Jay, we've won the league because of you. We couldn't have done it without you.

"You were centre of midfield and centre of the team. God bless you."

Between the tributes, a string of Jay's favourite pop songs were played, including Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing and Puff Daddy's I'll Be Missing You.

Another song, Bruce Hornsby and the Range's The Way It Is, brought tears to the eyes of many mourners.

Its sorrowful chorus stated : "That's just the way it is. Some things will never change."

Poem

Among the mourners at the ceremony were Whitehawk councillor Mo Marsh and Brighton Kemp Town MP Des Turner, both clearly moved by the tide of emotion.

Stressing the importance of community spirit, Mr Morgan read from an anonymous poem left at the scene of Jay's death.

He added: "I hope when you hear this poem you can think that being part of Whitehawk is something which should leave you with your head held high."

As the lines of verse were slowly read, a solitary rhyming couplet summed up the community spirit shown in the wake of Jay's stabbing: "We may be poor but we are bold. People round here have hearts of gold."

A further piece of music was singled out for Jay's grieving father - You'll Never Walk Alone, by Gerry and the Pacemakers.

As the service drew to a close, Mr Morgan appealed on behalf of Jay's family for them to be able to climb the hill to his resting place alone.

The cortege then made its final ascent as mourners dispersed to the sound of the Blur chart hit Tender echoing behind them, including the words: "Love is the greatest thing."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.