A fleet of luxury Aston Martin sports cars joined the cortege last Friday at the funeral of Heathfield teenager Kieran Brookes.

The 14-year-old, who died in March following a tragic accident on a French ski lift, had a passion for the iconic British marque.

'Knowing how much Kieran loved Astons, his dad Nick put a call into the owners' club and a local dealer, so the cars came along,' said family friend John Perratt.

'One took Kieran's sister Zoe to the service at Exeter Crematorium. it was a nice touch.

'It was lovely to hear the cars as they arrived. they made a great sound.'

Despite the obvious sadness of the occasion, Mr Perratt, who works with Kieran's dad Nick at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, said the funeral had helped with the grieving process.

The investigation into Kieran's death in the Alpine resort of Chatel meant his body had been retained by the authorities.

'Seven months has passed since Kieran died, but the crematorium was packed out with school friends, family and people from the R D and E,' said Mr Perratt.

'It was very much a young person's funeral, with rock and pop music played along with traditional hymns.

'Kieran's body was held for a long time, then everything happened very quickly and, thankfully, it was released. It was a great relief for his family.'

Yesterday, Mr Perratt, together with Kieran's dad Nick and neighbour Dave French, set off on a 200-mile sponsored cycle ride to Hyde Park, London.

It had been one of Kieran's ambitions to tackle the journey and now it is being completed in his name and to raise funds for Balloons, the children's bereavement charity that has supported ten-year-old Zoe since she lost her brother.

'We hope to cycle 100 miles to Salisbury on the first day then 70 miles on Friday to Guildford,' said Mr Perratt.

'We'll be joined for the last mile by Zoe and we're expecting quite a few people to turn up. It will be quite a moving occasion.'