Mourners say final farewell to brave cancer battler Madison Allan

Crowds wearing pink ties, headbands and pink shirts gathered in Blackburn Cathedral courtyard in blustery conditions, to greet the funeral procession of the schoolgirl cancer battler.

Bells tolled as a police escort signalled the arrival of two white horses wearing pink feathers, pulling an ornate white carriage and family cars filled with pink and red flowers.

The bells continued to chime until the seven-year-old’s small white coffin was carried into the cathedral by her father Mark, alongside three pallbearers.

Wiping away tears, her mum Samantha, grandmother Alison and other close family members lined up to watch the coffin as it was carried into the service.

They all wore matching deep-pink scarves in memory of the youngster, who died on Boxing Day after battling agressive cancer Neuroblastoma most of her life.

Just before Madison’s coffin and her family entered the cathedral, the Athlete-hit Wires - written about an ill child - was played and incense was burnt.

Madison’s uncle, John Foster Jnr, spoke first about Madison, whose bravery captured the hearts of people across East Lancashire.

He said: “Hearts and lives were changed by this little girl.

“People used to come up to us in the street and say ‘isn’t she gorgeous?’. It wasn’t just us who thought it.

“She was gorgeous and always had a smile on her face. She was always reading and writing even though she was in so much pain.

“She had tubes, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and sleepless nights with her head in a bowl, but she never complained, it was normal for her.”

He added: “She clearly had a gift for inspiring people and giving them a spirit of generosity.

“If this was her purpose in life, then she achieved it big time.

“Goodnight, God bless sweetheart.”

After a rendition of Psalm 23, Madison’s “favourite” uncle Simon Foster gave humourous family anecdotes of the schoolgirl.

He said: “She had a dry and very wicked sense of humour. Throughout all she’s been through she gave us all seven years of joy.”

Coronation Street stars including Shobna Gulati, who plays Sunita, and Scott Wright, who played Sam Kingston, attended the funeral after meeting Madison when she and her family raised money for the Five Star Scanner Appeal at Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Shobna broke down as she spoke of her friendship with Madison, and recited the poem, ‘Do not stand at my Grave and Weep’.

She said Madison always called her ‘Darwen’, after meeting for the first time on her second birthday at a fundraiser called ‘A Do For Darwen’.

“She wasn’t impressed that this lady off the telly and the guest of honour was stealing all the thunder on her birthday,” Shobna said.

“Over the next five years, and how heartbreaking that represents more than half of her life, we shared an amazing friendship.

“We both loved dancing, dressing up and both loved Tinkerbell with a passion.

“She was determined to the point of stubborn. She was beyond her years and knew all the fuss going on around her. She wanted to be strong, particularly for Sam and Mark.”

Canon Shannon Ledbetter said: “From the moment she was born, she mesmerised people.

“The doctor who delivered her just had to give her a kiss before giving her to Samantha.

“People were literally stopping in the street to admire her.

“But Madison’s inner beauty and spirit drew people in, in a much more profound way.

“It wasn’t just about financially supporting a child, but being part of her journey.”

The Take That song Rule The World was played as mourners left the cathedral and once again the bells tolled.

Darwen MP Jake Berry, who attended the funeral, said: “Madison was an unbelievable little girl who achieved more in seven years than many people will do in a lifetime.

“It is tragic she’s been taken away so soon, with so much more to give.

"But her legacy will be the children who benefit from the new scanner at Manchester Children’s Hospital, and from the ongoing work of the Madison Allan Appeal.”