A "COOL and calm lad" was how murder victim Chris Hartley was described by his cousin to mourners who gathered for his funeral.

Georgie fought back the tears as she read out her own very personal tribute to the family and friends who gathered at St Mark's Church, Rossendale Road, Burnley.

She said: "Chris was not only my cousin but my best friend."

The dismembered and headless body of 17-year-old Chris was found dumped in a hotel bin in Blackpool where he had lived for eight months.

His coffin was carried into the church by funeral directors and members of his family while the haunting Moody Blues melody Nights in White Satin echoed around the room.

His parents Philip and Jean, of Helston Close, Burnley, and members of his family wrote a tribute and called for mourners to remember February 12 as a day of love. The Rev Chris Rogers told a weeping congregation: "There is nothing I can say to reflect how deeply sorry you feel.

"We can do nothing else now but offer him to God, let Him take care of him.

"No matter what happened at the end of his life the thing I found so strong when I went to his home was that it was a home full of love, a home devastated by the news but a home which clearly surrounded him with encouragement and love.

"As we think back over his few short years we will have wonderful memories when he made us laugh, told a joke, maybe played a trick on us. Times we shared with him, his eyes sparkling.

"In our tears and sorrow, laugh again with him.

"Tomorrow, remember something else that made you laugh, and the day after, something else.

"Tears will not go away very quickly but they will go away. What you will be left with is his laughter and his love in your hearts."

Prayers were said for Chris, for his family and also "for those who have to seek out those who committed this terrible crime".

Janet Jackson's recent chart hit Together Again was played at his parents' request. One of the lines is: "Everywhere I go, every smile I see; I see you are there smiling back at me."

Chris was buried at Burnley Cemetery.

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