A KNUTSFORD vicar has praised both his congregation and hundreds of travellers who attended a funeral last Thursday.

Rev Rob Cotton, of Knutsford Methodist Church, was speaking after the funeral of dad-of-three Felix Rooney, 33, who died after being in collision with a vehicle in Shropshire, on March 17.

The funeral, which was hosted at the town church, was led by a Baptist pastor from Oxford and attended by up to 600 travellers from across the UK, Ireland and the USA. The tributes were led by Mr Rooney's wife Winnie, mother Bridgie and their three children John, Bridgie and Jimmy.

The church, which holds up to 300 people, relayed the service to people stood outside.

Rev Cotton said: "We had just two days to organise the funeral and it was such a large event with 150 alone attending a service of thanksgiving for Mr Rooney on Wednesday evening.

"What was interesting was to understand that we can learn from the travellers' sense of community. Members of our congregation who attended the service were quite moved and very proud to be supportive of the family and all their friends in their hour of need."

During the funeral police closed both Princess Street and Tabley Hill Road, for up to six hours leading to early morning congestion and fears from businesses of both a loss of trade and trouble in the town, which in the event, was largely unfounded.

Rev Cotton explained: "We had a number of claims that there had been crimes committed in the town and as a result I visited businesses where it was claimed there had been problems but they denied there had been any difficulties.

"All of the businesses I spoke with said the funeral had gone off without any problem whatsoever. One business owner even said they closed as a mark of respect to the Rooney family."

Mr Cotton added: "As a Church we are passionate about sharing God's love with everybody and if we say that, we then have to have the integrity in doing that."

Mr Rooney was buried on Thursday afternoon at Tabley Hill Cemetery.