Jamie Heaton: Funeral held for Shaw blast victim

Jamie was watching TV when the explosion happened

The funeral has taken place of a two-year-old boy who was killed when his home was flattened in an explosion.

Jamie Heaton was watching television when the blast tore through several houses in Shaw, Oldham, on 26 June.

His parents, Michelle and Kenny, led about 400 mourners into the funeral at nearby St James Church, with hundreds listening on loudspeakers outside.

Jamie's body was carried in a white coffin with polka dots in red, orange, purple and green.

His mother wept as she read a poem during the funeral.

The Reverend Lynne Connolly, who led the service, said Jamie's family appreciated the support shown by the local community since "that horrible day".

"The tragic death of Jamie has devastated us all," she said.

After the hymn Amazing Grace was sung, the toddler's mother stepped to the altar and sobbed as she read out the poem Footprints.

The poem ended: "My precious, precious child I love you and would never leave you.

"During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Mrs Heaton, 31, who works for Boots, survived the blast which killed her son after stepping out to hang out washing in the yard.