Hillsborough campaign mum Anne Williams laid to rest

Last updated : 29 April 2013 By Liverpool Echo

Crowds lined the streets outside Our Lady's church in Formby for the service this afternoon.

Along with family and close friends, Liverpool FC manager Brendan Rodgers, LFC managing director Ian Ayre and MPs including Andy Burnham attended for what was described as a "celebration" of her life.

Tributes to Anne, who died aged 62 on April 18, were paid at the service by her brother Danny Gordon and by Stevie Hart, a Liverpool fan who tried to save her son Kevin on the Sheffield pitch.

Well-wishers, many sporting Liverpool and Everton scarves and shirts, gathered outside the church and waited to hear the service, which was relayed to them via speakers.

During the funeral Danny recalled his childhood in Formby with Anne and the innocence of their youth.

He added: "We were always taught that anyone in authority should be trusted.

"What happened to our society when a mum can't send her son to a football match and rely on his safe return?"

Mr Gordon read a poem written by Anne, which ended with the lines: "We hoped that justice would come one day, and those who caused us pain would pay."

A candle donated to the church by Anne in 15-year-old Kevin's memory in 1989 was lit and placed on her coffin throughout the service.

The congregation left the church to the sound of Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli's recording of Time to Say Goodbye, before family and close friends went on to Southport crematorium and later Formby Guild Hall.

As the funeral car bearing Anne's coffin, decorated simply with the word 'Mum' drove away, onlookers burst in to spontaneous applause.

Speaking after the service, Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said Anne must never be forgotten.

He added: "We showed our appreciation to a woman who has been an integral part of the campaign for justice for 24 years.

"When the story is completed on Hillsborough, she won't see the final chapter written, but she is an integral part of that story."