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31/08/00 - Sarah's family says farewell
by Stewart Payne
Mourned by a nation for the dreadful manner of her death,
today murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne was grieved for
at her funeral by those who loved her most. Her mother,
Sara, so strong in the days after her daughter disappeared,
found the words through the tears to pay tribute to
the eight-year-old.
"Ever since you came bounding into our lives at
two in the morning with one tooth in your head and with
a smile that could melt ice, we loved you," she
said. "You were the joy that made our lives full."
Mrs Payne and husband Mike, both 31, and their other
children Lee, 13, Luke, 11, and six-year-old Charlotte,
laid Sarah to rest in a tiny white coffin in the village
of Hersham in Surrey, where she was born and went to
school.
The village was brought to a halt as the funeral cortege
made its way at walking pace to St Peter's Church along
a route lined with hundreds of local people silently
paying their respects. First came two funeral cars overflowing
with flowers. Then Sarah's coffin, set inside a Victorian
glass-sided carriage was pulled by four grey horses
with blue plumes on their heads.
On top of the coffin was a wreath of purple and white
flowers in the shape of a cross and beside it a wreath
of pink carnations in the shape of a teddy bear. On
top of the carriage were more wreaths including one
forming Sarah's name and another saying "Princess",
the name by which she was known to her parents.
Then came the mourners on foot, the men first with Sarah's
elder brother, Lee, walking beside his father. Younger
brother Luke was a few paces behind, beside his uncle.
Then came Sarah's sister, Charlotte, who clutched her
mother with one hand and a tiny teddy bear with the
other.
At the back were three Sussex police officers who have
been involved in the hunt for Sarah's killer since 1
July, the day she was abducted from outside her grandparents'
home near Littlehampton in West Sussex. Her body was
found naked and dumped in a field 15 miles away near
Pulborough, also in West Sussex, two weeks later.
It took 10 minutes for the cortege to make its way from
the Payne family home to the church. Among the villagers
along the route were patrolling police officers who
removed their helmets and stood with their heads bowed
as the coffin passed. At the entrance to the church
the family were greeted by the Rev Nick Whitehead.
The coffin was carried in by four pallbearers, the white
box looking sadly small on broad shoulders. During the
40-minute service, the congregation of 400 family and
friends were given reflections on Sarah's short life.
Her teacher, June Whittle, described Sarah as "always
smiling, happy and chirpy".
She said Sarah was a "determined and feisty little
girl with a strong spirit. She was caring, vibrant,
full of love and generosity." Her abiding memory
of Sarah, she said, will be of her dashing out of school
at the end of the day to meet her mother, who was always
waiting outside. The pair would then walk away, swinging
their arms together, sometimes skipping.
But it was Sarah's mother who reduced the congregation
to tears as through her own tears, she described the
daughter who meant so much. "You were just great.
You were a pain when you were supposed to be but you
were a great friend whenever we needed one."
The vicar echoed the sentiments of a nation which followed
the story of Sarah's disappearance when he said: "We
so longed for Sarah to be found safe. We are grateful
to all those who worked so hard to find her, the police
and their staff, the public who offered to help and
the media who supported the effort with such care and
dignity."
He said that we should all give thanks for Sarah's life
and the happiness she brought. "If Sarah's death
does anything, let it remind you all what a joy it is
to be able to cuddle and care for our children and to
enable them to grow and flourish." He concluded:
"Sarah used to write letters to friends and family
which she ended 'I love you so, so, so, so very much'.
If God wrote letters he'd end them just like Sarah."
Sarah had already developed a liking for hymns which
she had begun to sing to her younger sister. One of
them, Lord Of The Dance, was sung today, along with
Abide With Me and Breathe On Me, Breath of God. The
service was relayed to hundreds of people outside the
church, many with children, and almost all in tears.
After prayers the congregation left the church led by
Mr and Mrs Payne to the sound of I'll Find My Way Home
by the former Yes singer Jon Anderson. Outside, Sarah's
weeping parents hugged friends and relatives as they
prepared to follow the coffin on its final half-mile
journey to be buried at Burvale cemetery.
As it was placed back in the carriage, Mrs Payne sobbed
on her husband's shoulder. The family went by car to
the short, private ceremony at the graveside. After
they had left, the grave was filled in immediately and
the floral tributes placed around it, so that the public
could pay their respects. Among the flowers was a cross
of white carnations from Sarah's parents with the message:
"We miss you Princess, we will be together again."
Purple flowers arranged to spell "Sarah" were
from her brothers and sister. Lee wrote: "We love
you lots and always will miss you." Luke wrote:
"Sleep tight Sarah I miss you lots." And Charlotte:
"I love Sarah. I hope Sarah is OK in heaven."
After the service, Detective Superintendent Alan Ladley,
in charge of the hunt for Sarah's killer, said: "This
day has been very important for the Payne family.
They have waited two months to lay Sarah to rest and
now they feel they can move forward, both for their
sake and for the sake of their children. How they have
coped I simply do not know." He said police have
made a minor breakthrough with three separate sightings
connected to the missing blue dress Sarah was wearing
when she vanished.
Three people have come forward to say they saw what
- at the time - they took to be a man's T-shirt in a
lane near the West Sussex village of Coolham, where
one of Sarah's shoes was found. "Unfortunately
it was no longer there," said Mr Ladley. |
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