Funeral '˜fit for a king' for Rugby man

His daughter Kelly-Marie Hannifin, 26, described her father as a ‘family-man’ who loved spending time with his children and 11 grandchildren.

Mr Hannifin died on Christmas Eve when his Ford Transit flatbed left the road and hit a tree.

Kelly-Marie described her father’s death as a ‘freak accident’ and said: “It was a big shock to us all.”

Mr Hannifin, 55, of Grosvenor Road, was born in Rugby and lived in the town all his life.

He married his childhood sweetheart and they had been together for 33 years when he died.

Kelly-Marie said: “He was of big importance in all of our lives.

“Some families split but we were always close.”

She said hundreds, possibly over 1,000, people attended the funeral at St Marie’s Church on Dunchurch Road.

Mr Hannifin’s Irish background was honoured with a casket decorated with the colours of the flag of the Republic of Ireland.

The funeral included four Rolls Royce cars, horses, Celtic pipers, the releasing of 200 balloons and a light aircraft trailing a banner.

Kelly-Marie said the family wanted to give Mr Hannifin, who worked in various fields including scrap metal and demolition, a “send-off fit for a king”.