Ava White: Funeral held for stabbed schoolgirl in Liverpool

Hundreds of people, including many children, have attended a funeral service for a 12-year-old girl who was stabbed to death in Liverpool.

Ava White was out with friends at the city's Christmas lights switch-on when she was attacked on 25 November.

The congregation applauded as Ava's coffin was carried into Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

The Archbishop of Liverpool said she was a "real character who always brightened up the day by her presence".

Malcolm McMahon added there was "little sadder in life than the death of a child".

He spoke about Ava's interests in swimming, dancing and mixed martial arts as well as her talent at playing football.

"Her young life was a gift - short as it was - one which we should cherish with love and affection," he said.

Photographs of the schoolgirl covered her coffin, which arrived in a white horse-drawn carriage after a procession through the centre of Liverpool.

A coroner has said Ava, who was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital after she was attacked, died from a stab wound to her neck.

A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with her murder and possessing a blade.

Following Ava's death, her father Robert Martin said the family were "completely devastated and heartbroken".

Her head teacher at the city's Notre Dame Catholic College described her as "an incredibly popular girl with a fantastic group of friends".

Philip Munns, BBC Radio Merseyside

The whole of Liverpool will be standing side by side and thinking of Ava and her family on this most difficult of days for them.

Her family asked people not to wear black so there were plenty of colours and lots of T-shirts and custom-made hoodies with Ava's face and name on.

The feeling in the hours and days after her death was one of shock and devastation - to have a young girl killed on a night when celebrations were happening.

Archbishop McMahon said Ava's death had "brought deep shock and sadness to everyone in the city".

"The turnout today at the cathedral shows the unity and love that we have in Liverpool for Ava and her family," he said.

Earlier this month, hundreds of people attended a vigil on Church Street, near where Ava died.

A minute's applause was held at the Merseyside derby, with Everton and Liverpool fans unfurling a banner with the message: "No more knives in our city."

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