The family and friends of a beloved mother killed in exceptionally tragic circumstances have paid their final tributes to her today.
Mum-of-three Heather Smedley died two days before Christmas when a police vehicle collided with her car as she turned into her street - Otmoor Way, in Royton. The unmarked GMP car that crashed into Heather's had been chasing a suspected stolen vehicle at the time of the crash.
Today, less than half a mile down the road from where the collision took place, mourners filed into St Marks Heyside to pay their respects. By the time the service started at 1.15pm there was barely even standing room at the back of the church as outside, snow lined the pavements and car park where the funeral cortege lay in waiting.
READ MORE: Heartbreaking tribute to 'wonderful' mum, 53, killed in crash with unmarked police car
Inside the hearse were an assortment of flowers, including some that had been impressively fashioned into the shape of a can of Foster's Lager.
Following Heather's death, her family paid tribute to a "kind, gentle beautiful soul", who was the "most wonderful" mother, daughter, sister and wife.
They said: "She was the glue that held our family together. Her resilience and kindness inspired us all to be better. She had the greatest sense of humour and contagious laugh that we will miss every single day."
Touching tributes were also written by Heather's nearest and dearest and placed by the delicate floral arrangements inside the hearse. Heather worked as a cook supervisor and colleagues from nearby primary school Thornham St James wrote: "Heather was truly loved by all the staff and children at school and will never be forgotten."
Another message, left by the 53-year-old's brother-in-law Tony Wild, read: "For 12 years Heather you text me every single morning without fail after my heart attack. My last text from you was 06.17 on the day you were taken away. That text will remain in my phone forever."
People attending the funeral had been encouraged to wear 'a touch of red' and plenty obliged. Even the horses that pulled the carriage containing Heather's beautiful white coffin and flowers of the same colour spelling out 'mum', were donning red plumes from their bridles.
Around 45 minutes after the service began, just after 2pm, the funeral director led the cortege onto Water Street, before turning onto Oldham Road. Some of those who had just been inside the church clutched their order of services to their chests and others shed tears as they watched Heather's coffin make its way past the street where she used to live and towards Crompton Cemetery for the interment.
An investigation into whether "police actions were in accordance with policies and procedures" is currently being carried out by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Anyone with information about the collision or dashcam footage should contact GMP quoting incident log 969 of 23/12/2022. Information can be reported online or by using the LiveChat function of the GMP website. If you can't report online, call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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