M6 crash brothers' funeral held

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/staffordshire/7477789.stm

Version 0 of 1.

About 200 mourners have attended the funeral of two brothers who were killed in a crash on the M6 in Staffordshire.

Arron and Ben Peak, aged 10 and eight and from Partington, Greater Manchester, died after the collision near Keele services on 7 June.

The Manchester United fans were carried into their local church in a double coffin in the colours of their team.

Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick has been charged with causing their deaths by dangerous driving.

He is also accused of driving with excess alcohol and is currently on bail. He is next due to appear at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 8 September.

Broken neck

The boys' bodies were taken to Our Lady of St Lourdes' church, in Partington, on a horse-drawn carriage and their coffin was then carried into the church by pallbearers wearing Man United shirts, with the boys' names and ages on the back.

Their father Phil Peak, 37, who suffered a broken neck and back in the crash, attended the service in a wheelchair with his wife Amanda.

The brothers had been travelling with their father

Reverend Malcolm Lorimer said of the boys: "They will continue to be special, they will continue to be remembered and also, as well, they will continue to be talked about and loved, and that's one of the positive things we can do in this community to help Amanda and Phil."

He added: "It's good to see so many people in red today, it's a real celebration because of the boys' love for Manchester United."

The family had received a personal letter of condolence from club manager Sir Alex Ferguson, he revealed.

The boys' grandfather, Nigel Fitzhugh, told the funeral: "They might have only lived for 10 and eight years but oh, what a time we've had."

The crash happened when the brothers were in a Toyota Previa people-carrier with their father and three friends on their way to a motor sport event at the Silverstone racetrack.

Red balloons

The Peak family's neighbour Phil Bennett, who was in the car when the crash happened, paid tribute to the boys.

He said: "From the moment we met you became a big part of our lives, as much a part of our lives as our own kids."

"The future we had imagined with Amanda and Phil and Arron and Ben is going to be so much different now but it can still happen because we know the boys will be with us and part of our hearts," he added.

A choir from the boys' Forest Gate Community Primary School sang You Raise Me Up.

The funeral was then followed by a private burial at Dunham Lawn Cemetery where red balloons were released.