Hexham stabbing: Funeral held for teenager Holly Newton

Purple was Holly Newton's favourite colour

Hundreds of people have attended a funeral for a "beautiful, bright, kind and fiery" 15-year-old girl who was stabbed to death.

Holly Newton was found injured in Hexham, Northumberland, on 27 January, and later died in hospital.

Holly's aunt Jemma told the service in Hexham Abbey her niece was a teenager who loved her parents endlessly, and adored her siblings.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with her murder and is due in court.

Holly had "touched so many hearts", her family said

The funeral procession, led by horses with purple feathers, which was Holly's favourite colour, had earlier made its way to the abbey where friends and family shared memories.

Jemma added that it had been "22 days since she was with us and it already feels like forever".

Holly's friends and family then left purple hearts in a frame beside her coffin.

Hundreds of people came to pay their respects in Hexham

BBC reporter Megan Paterson, at the service

A popular teenager who loved dancing and going to McDonald's, the words of Holly's friends were read out in the abbey.

They spoke of missing her cheekiness, and her kindness, and wishing they'd had more time together. Hopes of going on roads trips and travelling to the beach never fulfilled.

Holly's mum Micala remembered her "chubby-faced" newborn daughter, her first born child.

Sharing her recollections of the first nursery drop off, and Holly's first day of school, she remembered their shared sense of humour.

Holly, she said, was adventurous and sporty, she loved to dance as it "made her feel herself, without being judged".

She ended by saying: "Some people are just too good for this world and Holly was one of them."

Floral tributes were made out to Holly

The boy charged with Holly's murder, who cannot be identified because of his age, will next appear before Newcastle Crown Court on 27 February.

He is also charged with attempted murder and possessing a knife.