OLIVIA’S light blue coffin was carried into church in front of a crowd of hundreds of mourners.

Crowds lined the street to pay their respects, many dressed in blue as Olivia Campbell-Hardy’s family had requested, as many more filled St Anne’s Church in Tottington.

The service, conducted by the Rev Hugh Bearn was an upbeat one, with Lord of the Dance sung by the congregation and humourous anecdotes shared by the vicar.

The funeral cortege arrived at the church just after 1pm and her coffin, draped in an England flag with the Manchester worker bee symbol on it was carried by pallbearers wearing blue shirts.

It was followed by Olivia’s tearful mother Charlotte and her stepfather Paul Hodgson.

A small, blue, stuffed turtle, Olivia’s favourite animal, was on top of the coffin.

Speaking to the congregation, Mr Bearn said: “Olivia had her primary school leavers service here when she was 11 and more recently she sat in the pew just down there for a couple of RE lessons, during which she yawned.”

In the wake of the attack at the Manchester Arena, which killed Olivia, aged 15, Mr Bearn said pupils from Tottington High School had visited the church.

At the church in Chapel Street, Olivia’s schoolmates lit candles and wrote their thoughts about her on pieces of paper.

These notes had been left on the altar for the funeral.

Mr Bearn said “It provides a glimpse and only a glimpse of Olivia.

“A girl with a sense of humour, who knew how to laugh, smile and have fun.”

He shared an anecdote with the congregation inside and those gathered outside who could hear the service.

He said Olivia had invented her own word ‘chegan’, a person who was vegan but still ate chicken.

He said ‘chicken’ was her favourite term of endearment, something she used to address even her teachers.

Other memories left at the altar included her ‘amazing smile’ and of course ‘her love of music’ and singing voice.

Mr Bearn said the sentiment expressed in all these notes was ‘she was a girl they were all very proud to have known’.

Mr Bearn said: “This [church] was her special place where she belonged as a member of Tottington High School.”

He spoke about the tragic circumstances in which Olivia was killed and said the service had been designed as a ‘celebration and thanksgiving’ of Olivia’s life and said ‘threads of hope and love’ had been woven throughout the songs and prayers, which had been included.

Mr Bearn said: “[These are] the exact opposite of meaninglessness and hate.”

During the service, the choir of Tottington High School, where Olivia attended, sang I, The Lord of Sea and Sky.

Prayers were offered for the emergency services who had attended terror attacks and there was a reading from Corinthians.

The congregation sang One More Step Along the World I Go before the service ended with the blessing.

Following the funeral, Olivia’s coffin was brought back to the hearse and her family were offered condolences by some of the many hundreds of people who attended.

Olivia’s friend Adam Lawler, aged 15, who went to the concert with her, attended the funeral. He was in a wheelchair but was determined to walk into the church and said he stood aided each time the vicar asked.

Adam, who is recovering faster than expected, said: “The service was beautiful. I feel we honoured her the best we could.”

He added he was going to attend the party that night and would be singing a few songs in her honour, including Oasis’ Don’t Look Back in Anger.

The hearse and funeral cortege were accompanied by around 100 scooterists on their way to East Lancashire Crematorium where a private service, including recordings of Olivia singing, All of Me and There You’ll Be, was conducted.

Afterwards a party, rather than a wake was held at Bury Football Club’s ground, where Olivia played as a young girl.