A TOWN came out to say farewell to a brave teenager at his funeral yesterday.

Jack Heath's coffin was carried by a horse-drawn carriage after his last spoken word to his family was ‘horse’.

Jack defied the odds for years as he battled an incurable genetic disorder, MPS II Hunter Syndrome, before he died ‘with a smile on his face’ surrounded by his dedicated family.

And that spirit was remembered when 200 people packed into Acre Mill Baptist Church in Stack-steads for his funeral service.

His parents Elizabeth and Jason have been associated with Acre Mill for a number of years and Jack had been in the congregation’s prayers in recent times.

Terry Haslam-Jones, one of the church’s leaders, said: “There were a lot of family connections and Elizabeth’s mother is a cleaner in church.”

The funeral service was led by lay preacher David Clegg and Stuart Keenan, who had become a friend of the family through his work with Christian Endeavour, a movement dedicated to faith-based youth work.

His eight-year sister Katie, who helped her parents care for Jack, left deaf, dumb and incontinent by his condition, gave a special reading.

Jack, of Cotman Close, Britannia, was first diagnosed with Hunters Syndrome in 2002 and his family was told that he would be lucky to make beyond the age of 10.

But the former Stacksteads Holy Trinity and Tor View pupil repeatedly defied expectations, though he eventually required around-the-clock care.

Donations were secured for the The Society for Mucopolysaccharide Diseases (the MPS Society). He was buried later at Bacup Cemetery, Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph last week, his mother said: “I’m just relieved that I don’t have to watch my baby suffer anymore. It leaves a massive empty space in our lives.”

Jack’s plight had touched dozens of individuals and families in the Bacup area and nurses who had become involved with him had also been in touch to tell his parents had privileged they had been to know him.