Heartbroken fans braved the cold to say their final goodbye to One Direction star Liam Payne at his funeral in Amersham.
Scores of fans and residents lined the street outside St Mary The Virgin Church in Church Street as the horse-drawn hearse arrived at around 1pm on Wednesday.
The funeral was attended by Liam Payne’s fellow bandmates, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.
Other attendees included Simon Cowell, James Corden, Girls Aloud singers Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, as well as his family and girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
Heidi Camp, 33, has been a fan since One Direction was first formed on the 2010 series of The X Factor and was one of those who stood outside the service.
She described it as ‘absolutely heartbreakingly sad but beautiful.’ Heidi added: “I opened up the shop this morning, that was about six in the morning and there was some press here.
“I’m from Chesham, so I went and got my lunch and someone was like ‘Did you know what was going on’.
“So we thought we’d come down and pay our respects it would be nice.”
Floral tributes at the funeral spelt out the words ‘son’ and ‘daddy’ with an arrangement of flowers and candles near both entrances to the church.
Heidi continued: “The ‘son’ and ‘daddy’ flowers were really nice and the burnt orange flowers were really nice as well.
“It’s a rubbish situation but how beautiful. The horses were lovely.”
In a message to the band, she said: “Thank you, you’re all talented. Keep strong and thanks for the memories for a lifetime I suppose for fans like us.”
Her friend, Alicia Salisbury, 32, travelled from London to see the funeral and said she ‘couldn’t believe it’ when she heard the news of his death.
“I thought it was a joke because sometimes when I go online, especially on Facebook you get these odd websites that say some celebrity had died.
“I looked on the Daily Mail and it was serious.”
Her message to family and friends was: “We love you all”.
Church Street was closed off to traffic throughout the service from around midday, up until about 3pm.
Sheila Morris, 65, lives in Old Amersham and stood outside as the hearse arrived.
She said: “Just being a mother and losing a son must be terrible. He died in such a tragic way and it hit the whole world I think really.
“I think everyone felt affected for some time afterwards. It’s awful.
“I think (the funeral) has been respectful, really respectful. A little bit more traffic than normal but in this sort of case it happens doesn’t it.
“The church is so beautiful, they’ve done the flowers up.
“To see the ‘son’ on the wreath from his little boy, it’s very sad. I think it brings it home, doesn’t it?
“For someone so young it is very sad. You don’t really have any words really.”
Guests attending the funeral were thanked by the family for their kind messages and asked to make a donation to Great Ormond Street Hospital in memory of Liam.
Also displayed outside the church was a floral arrangement depicting bowling pins, calling back to Liam’s love of bowing.
Revd. Jonny Rapson walked in front of the hearse as the coffin and Liam Payne’s parents left the area after the service.
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