A HORSE-drawn carriage was followed by scores of family and friends to the funeral of a young riding instructor who died from a brain tumour.

The service at Blackburn Cathedral was packed with 200 people remembering Catherine Kearney, 24, of Spinning Avenue, Guide, who had battled for life for two and a half years.

She died the day before friends held a fund-raising event for her in Accrington -- but they went ahead with the event to raise money for the charity she supported.

The Dean of Blackburn, the Very Rev Christopher Armstrong led the service, where Catherine's friend Gavin Young sang Angels by Robbie Williams.

Tia Ferrigno, of Rosemere Cancer Foundation, who worked with Catherine, paid tribute to a girl who was "an inspiration."

She said: "I will always remember Catherine for her hair extensions and long nails. Another thing I will always remember her for is her mobile.

"We all have texts from her that we will never delete. And they always finished, 'lots of love', or 'how is the family?' Never moaning, never complaining."

Catherine died just days after being awarded a medal for her work for the Rosemere Cancer Foundation with her fund-raising team, Catherine's Crusaders.

Catherine's sister Gillian Barton, 28, recited a passage by Canon Henry Scott-Holland "Death is Nothing at All" which she dedicated to her "little sister."

The Dean, who had known Catherine and her parents, Eddie and Joan, said: "Today is a very sad day but outside it is a lovely day. And as Catherine would have put it, a great riding day.

"Like the horses she so much enjoyed, it is impossible to see her life in retrospect without coming to the conclusion that it was a gallop for most for the time."

Catherine's tumour was found in 2003 and she was given chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Her condition improved last year but in July the tumour had advanced and her condition gradually deteriorated.

A cremation service was held at Pleasington.