THE CROWD at 17-year-old Maisie Norton's funeral today was the biggest the parish priest said he had seen in 25 years at the church.

Hundreds of people packed Ss Peter and Paul church in Wantage for a service which was equal parts tears and laughter to honour the "inspirational" teenager.

The same crowd brought Wantage town centre to a standstill as they followed Maisie's hearse from the church to Grove Cemetery an hour's walk away.

Maisie's parents Steve and Rosie Norton invited everyone at the service to join them as they led Maisie to her final resting place, a stone's throw from their home.

Mr Norton began the ceremony by remembering how his daughter had been "trouble" even as a tot.

He recalled how her younger brother Owen, now 15, had developed a "Maisie alarm" at a young age which would sound when she played with his toys.

He fought back tears to describe how, even through her treatment for cancer over the past six years, she never complained.

"At her lowest point, she kept fighting," he said.

"She was so strong and touched so many people's hearts, none more so than Rosie, [her older sister] Ellie, Owen and mine.

"She inspired me in everything I do."

The congregation gave him a standing ovation as he finished by saying the gap in their hearts would never be filled.

Three of Maisie's friends from King Alfred's Academy in Wantage gave a short speeches saying how honoured they felt to have known her.

One girl remembered how they spent hours giggling at the littlest things and said: "I loved her ability to laugh and be cheerful even when things were difficult."

She also recalled how Maisie had been "brave enough" to join Ray's Race for Life in Wantage last year, a sponsored walk for Cancer Research UK, weeks after an operation.

She concluded: "I couldn't have asked for a better friend.

"She was beautiful inside and out. You will live forever in my heart and I will never forget you."

Another friend, as he began reading his tribute, said: "As Maisie would have said 'get a grip or man up'."

He said Maisie "took the bull by the horns and got on with life", and said: "That's why I found her inspirational."

He also battled tears to pay tribute to Maisie's parents for bring up three "polite, caring and friendly" children.

He finished with a message to Maisie: "We'll carry on from where we left it when I see you."

Father John Salter said Maisie, who passed away at home on October 8, had busied herself in her final weeks by planning the event that everyone was taking part in.

He said he had never known anyone else who had persuaded funeral directors – all dressed with pink ribbons – to change what they were wearing.

Maisie's parents previously told the Oxford Mail how moved they had been by well wishers offering their support in the wake of her death.

Maisie's family asked for any well-wishers to make a donation to the Caring Cancer Trust which brought Maisie happiness, for which they were still grateful.

See caringcancertrust.com