Up to 500 mourners have attended the funeral service of teenager Jay Slater “who touched the lives of so many people”.
Family and friends packed into the chapel at Accrington Crematorium to pay their respects to the 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, who died while on holiday in Tenerife.
Many others watched in the drizzle outside as the proceedings were relayed on a specially erected big screen.
Jay Slater was found dead after going missing on holiday in Tenerife in June (Family handout/LBT Global/PA)
At the wishes of his family, most wore the colour blue in his memory including his work colleagues from PH Build Group, where he was an apprentice bricklayer, who wore T-shirts with ‘Forever 19’ on the front.
Funeral director Sarah Barton officiated at the service and told the congregation: “We know that Jay touched the lives of so many people, and on behalf of the family I would like to thank all those who have sent heartfelt messages and cards to them to help them get through this incredibly hard and sad time.
“I would also like to thank all those who have helped bring Jay safely back to us, family, friends, the kind offers from people in Tenerife, the police here back home and all of you for coming here today to show your love and care.”
A post-mortem examination found the teenager died on June 17 of traumatic head injuries, consistent with a fall from height. His death would have been instantaneous.
Mourners wore blue to honour the teenager’s life (Acacia Redding/PA)
Mr Slater attended the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance, and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island, which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
He had travelled to an Airbnb in Masca after a night out but the two men said to have rented the property were later ruled “not relevant” to the case.
The Spanish Civil Guard said Mr Slater could have fallen in the steep and inaccessible area where he was discovered.