Funeral of killings case victim

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The funeral has taken place of a Northumberland mother, who was one of five women killed in Suffolk last year.

More than 50 mourners paid their respects to 24-year-old Paula Clennell at a ceremony in her home town of Berwick on Thursday.

The mother-of-three was one of five murdered prostitutes found dumped on the outskirts of Ipswich in December.

Steve Wright, 48, of Ipswich, was charged with five murders and is due to appear at Ipswich Crown Court in May.

Ms Clennell's father Brian, who pleaded for her safe return before she was found dead, was at the ceremony.

Grieving mourners

She was carried into the chapel at Tweedmouth Cemetery in a white coffin with a cross made from flowers on top.

The hearse contained floral tributes, including a pink heart made of roses, as well as cards from grieving mourners.

Relatives and friends wept as a piper played while the coffin was carried into the chapel for the 35-minute service, led by Methodist minister, Helen Hoe.

Two uniformed police officers stood outside the cemetery gates.

Mr Clennell, who still lives in Berwick, had arrived before the main funeral cortege. His ex-wife, Isabella, who moved to East Anglia following the break-up of their marriage when Paula was 16, was in the official car which followed the coffin.

It was the second funeral among the five murder victims, following the service for 29-year-old Annette Nicholls, of Ipswich, which took place on Tuesday.

Funerals for Tania Nicol, 19, Gemma Adams, 25, and Anneli Alderton, 24, will be held in the coming weeks.