MORE than 100 mourners gathered to bid their farewell to a 26-year-old mother-of-four.

Amanda Jane Hawley died in intensive care just three days after being taken to hospital in agony with a mystery illness.

Many members of her family broke down as the coffin made its way from a family house in St Thomas Street to the funeral in St Mark's Church, Buncer Lane, yesterday.

At the service speakers said that Amanda, of St Aidan's Avenue, Mill Hill, Blackburn, would be remembered as a loving mother to her children; Carlie, nine, Declan, eight, Leah, three, Reece, one.

She was buried at Pleasington Cemetery after the service.

Rev Fleur Green, of St Mark's Church, Buncer Lane, Blackburn, said: "It was a moving funeral.

"About 130 people attended and Amanda's sister and two of her cousins gave readings they had written."

Amanda fell ill and complained of stomach pains and vomiting but after being admitted to Royal Blackburn Hospital when her condition deteriorated.

Doctors asked the family's permission to switch off her life support machine on February 28 and a post-mortem examination has failed to find the cause of her death.

Amanda worked as a part-time carer for the elderly and was known as Manda. As well as her children, she leaves her partner Lenny McCloud, 27.

Amanda was the daughter of Gail and Richard and the sister of Kathleen, 24, Richard, 22, and Craig, 20.

At the opening of the inquest into Amanda's death earlier this week, coroner Michael Singleton said that she had been admitted to hospital with abdominal pains and vomiting due to a suspected stomach infection.

He said that more tests are to be carried out to discover why she died at such a young age.