By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:26 PM on 18th April 2011
Hundreds of mourners lined the streets of Swindon today to pay their respects to murdered nightclubber Sian O'Callaghan.
Old and young gathered in the Old Town area - where the 22-year-old lived with her boyfriend and was last seen alive - throwing flowers as the funeral cortege passed slowly by with a police escort.
More then 500 people had gathered to watch the procession, which was followed by a private service for around 90 close family and friends.
Memorial: Wellwishers lined the street, showering Sian's funeral procession with flowers as they remembered the 22-year-old
Memory: Flowers spell out Sian's name as the procession moved through the area of the town where she was last seen alive
Tragic end: Minicab driver Christopher Halliwell, 47, has been remanded in custody to await trial charged with the 22-year-old's murder
Kylie Montgomery, 22, a former schoolfriend of Miss O'Callaghan, explained why she joined the many hundreds of mourners.
'We went to school together and we were in a couple of classes together,' she said.
'We drifted apart after school but she was a fantastic and amazing woman.'
Fighting back tears, Miss Montgomery, from Swindon, added: 'And now she's just been taken.
'It's so sad in just such horrible circumstances.'
Fellow schoolfriend Melloney Welch, 23, from Swindon, said: 'Sian was just a friend of everyone's.
Paying their respects: The emotion of the sad day was too much for many of the mourners
Tribute: Hundreds turned out to see the funeral procession pass through the town
'If anyone knew her they only had good things to say about her.
'Today was just lovely that so many people came out to pay their respects.'
Last week, Miss O'Callaghan's mother, Elaine, explained that local people would have a chance to pay their respects.
She told the Swindon Advertiser: 'The cortege will pass slowly through the town, which we felt was an expression of thanks to people who have shown their support.
'We want the service to be dignified and the family and Sian's boyfriend Kevin ask that our privacy is respected.
Farewell: Wellwishers gathered in the Old Town area - where she lived with her boyfriend - as the funeral cortege passed slowly by with a police escort
Touching: Young and old lined the streets to remember the tragic murder victim
'The cortege will not stop at any point on the route but it will slow down for people who wish to pay their respects.'
Miss O'Callaghan was last seen leaving Suju nightclub in Old Town in the early hours of March 19 after a night out with friends.
A massive police hunt was launched for the personal assistant, including detailed searches of the Savernake Forest, near Marlborough.
Five days later police found the 22-year-old's body in a field in Uffington, Oxfordshire.
Minicab driver Christopher Halliwell, 47, has been remanded in custody to await trial charged with her murder.
'Miss you always': Sian's mother leaves a note to her daughter
Floral tributes for Sian at Kingsdown Crematorium in Swindon, where she was laid to rest with her family and boyfriend in attendance
Swindon has a heart of gold and Sian is a part of that heart. Rest in Peace.
- Alistair Hillier-Manser, Sandbanks UK, 18/4/2011 18:16
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