The Wanted singer Tom Parker's bandmates and hundreds of fans pay tribute to him at his funeral

Friends, family and fellow band members of the The Wanted paid tribute to singer Tom Parker at his funeral today, as hundreds of fans lined the streets nearby to pay their respects.

The singer, who died last month at the age of 33 after battling a rare brain tumour, was driven through Petts Wood, south-east London, in a horse drawn carriage.

Tom’s bandmates Jay McGuiness, Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, and Nathan Sykes, fought back tears as they carried his coffin into St Francis of Assisi church as Oasis track “Champagne Supernova” played.

The pallbearers were followed into the church by a procession which included the singer’s widow Kelsey. They removed multicoloured flowers spelling “Daddy” from the horse-drawn carriage and took them inside the chirch, before removing a heart-shaped red rose piece spelling “Tom” from the hearse.

Among those attending the service was One Direction’s Liam Payne, who was given a round of applause by fans as they stood outside the church waiting to watch the service on three large screens.

Many of Tom’s fans huddled around the screens clutching tissues and crying.

Kelsey was heard sharing anecdotes about how the couple first met at a nightclub before Parker shot to fame, in a pre-recorded message played during the service.

“From that moment I told everyone I wanted to marry Tom Parker,” she said before becoming tearful.

The congregation then burst into laughter as she said: “Tom told me he was going to be famous and wouldn’t have time for a girlfriend, but he wouldn’t leave me alone.”

She added: “I will treasure every memory because life with you was never dull. You were always coming up with songs, new game shows, and we all know how much you loved an invention – I bet you were gutted you never made it on Dragons’ Den.

“Marrying you was the best day of my life… soulmates, that’s what we are.”

George also spoke at the service, telling the congregation: “I could actually hear him saying, ‘It’s about time’, as he carried us for the last 12 years.”

He also joked Tom had been the only member of The Wanted to have had a “punch-up” with all his bandmates, prompting more laughter from the congregation.

He added: “Everything he did he did with best intentions, even if it was a fight, he got away with it because it was Tom.

“I could say so much about Tom. One thing I will always remember is his laugh. He loves laughing at people and we experienced that every day.

“He has left us far too early and we will miss him so much. The people outside, the people all around the world, is a credit to him you. Rest easy mate.”

Meanwhile Kaneswaran told how Parker had a “big Boltonian heart”, adding: “He was never afraid to stand up for what was right, no matter the risk.”

Parker disclosed in October 2020 that he had been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma and had begun radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Despite his diagnosis, in the weeks before his death he had performed on stage with his bandmates as part of their much-delayed reunion tour.

Before the procession through Petts Wood, family and close friends of the star gathered in the Sovereign Of The Seas pub opposite the funeral parlour.

Fans dressed in black gathered along the high street to pay their respects before falling silent as his coffin was placed into the horse-drawn carriage.

A photograph of Parker in a white rose-adorned frame was placed inside the carriage, alongside photographs of handprints from his children, Bodhi and Aurelia.

Receptionist Chloe Mayne, 25, from Plumstead, a self-professed “super-fan” of the late singer, said: “It was amazing seeing him (perform live). It’s horrible that I saw him at the O2 and then two weeks later he died.”

Kevin George and Susan Potter, from Orpington, whose eldest son Daniel died from an astrocytoma grade three brain tumour at the age of 22 in 2018, were among those waiting outside the church.

Asked whether Parker’s campaigning for brain tumour research in his final months had affected her, Ms Potter, who was carrying a framed picture of her son, said: “Of course it did, especially the BBC One interview that they did and the way he dealt with it. It was exactly how my son dealt with it – exactly.

“In fact, at his funeral we played Bon Jovi “It’s My Life”, because that kind of (message) – it’s my life, I am going to live it now, I am going to live it today.”