A devastated family held their nan's funeral in her garden due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Hilda Pattison's six children wanted to give her the send off she deserved, but a service couldn't be held at a church due to a ban on large gatherings.
They decided to hold a funeral for the 77-year-old, who died on March 18 after battling cancer, in one of her favourite places - her garden at her home in Sunderland, ChronicleLive reports.
There was a limit on attendees due to social distancing rules, but the service was played through speakers for neighbours who watched from across their fences and hedges.
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When she was laid to rest on March 30, Hilda's coffin was surrounded by flowers that she grew.
Neighbours prepared the garden where Rev Jeremy Chadd led the tributes.
She was cremated at Sunderland Crematorium where only five members of her immediate family could attend.
After the service, Hilda's daughter Lindsey Pattinson, 39, said: “It was beautiful and it’s what mam would have wanted. The garden meant so much to her, so it was the perfect place to say goodbye.
“The neighbours were at their front doors and gates as mam was brought down the street.
“The garden is big enough so we could keep our social distancing and it meant neighbours could also attend but stay in their own gardens.
"In fact another neighbour opened their garden for other members of our family so we had enough distance apart for all of us.
“[My sister] Andrea and her husband set up the sound system so the neighbours could be part of the service.
“She sang a song she wrote for mam and neighbours stood at their gates and listened.
“It worked out beautifully, we could all say goodbye at a safe distance.”
Lindsey said her mum died at home after suffering kidney cancer that spread to her lungs and bones.
She had battled the disease for two years.
Her husband Ernie was 70 when he died of cancer 15 years ago.
Lindsey added: “The whole family was around her and most of her 11 grandchildren. We were holding her hand and telling her it was fine for her to go and reassured her we would all be safe.
"My sister Andrea, who is a singer, had sang her the songs she loved.
“She gradually got less conscious, but everyone saw her. We sat with her and her breathing gradually changed.
"We all held her hands and she took her last breath. We were in tears and everyone wanted to touch her skin for one last time.”
Hilda's family said she was belived in the neighbourhood, where children would call her nana, she knitted scarves for rough sleepers and volunteered at a soup kitchen.
Last October, she was the inspiraton for a charity ball that raised more than £8,000 for Down’s Syndrome North East.
Lindsey, a family support worker, said: “Mam inspired us to be the way were are. She was the person everyone went to and she helped them all.
“When this is all over we are going to have a wake and have bingo and all the things she loved. It will raise money for charity, she would have loved that.”
Rev Jeremy Chadd, of St Chad’s Church, said; “We brought Hilda to the garden she loved and her neighbours came out to their front doors as she was brought down the street.
“Hilda died before the restrictions were in place but the rules kept changing as her funeral came nearer.
“She couldn’t have the church she wanted so she was brought to the garden, where she had many parties with family and neighbours. Her garden meant a lot to her.
“She helped so many people and never turned her back on anyone who needed support. She was very well thought of in her community.
“Neighbours were able to listen to the service via a sound system, while other neighbours went to their back gardens where they were part of the service.
“It was what Hilda would have wanted as her garden meant so much to her.”
