Hundreds of mourners have lined the streets to pay their last respects to the late Labour MP Jo Cox. The mother-of-two is being laid to rest in a private service for close friends and family on Friday, but huge numbers turned out to line the route of her funeral cortege as it travelled through her Batley and Spen constituency in West Yorkshire.
People solemnly applauded and threw flowers - including white roses, the symbol of Yorkshire - as the funeral cars slowly passed through the town of Heckmondwike, where many had gathered to say their final farewells.
Hundreds of mourners lined the streets to pay their last respects to Jo Cox
Jo, 41, passed away on 16 June after she was attacked outside a library in Birstall, and her death caused a shock wave around the UK.
Her family, including husband Brendan Cox, said they had been "overwhelmed and touched by the love and support people have shown us."
In a statement released earlier this week, Jo's loved ones said: "Knowing that so many people share both our grief and our determination to take forward Jo's legacy is a source of great strength at what otherwise feels like a very bleak time.
There was solemn applause as her funeral cars passed by
"Now, particularly for the children, we have decided that Jo's funeral will be a very small and private family affair.
"Anybody from the local community who would like to pay their respects is welcome to gather along the areas outlined as we make this last journey.
"Following this we would ask everyone to respect our privacy to enable us to grieve and rebuild as a family."
Many brought white roses - the symbol of Yorkshire - to throw in the path of the cortege
Before the funeral procession got underway, posters were placed around Batley featuring a quote from Jo's maiden speech to the House of Commons – "Far more unites us than divides us."
Widower Brendan also took to Twitter on Friday morning to share what he thought Jo's reaction would have been to the horrific terrorist attack in Nice. "Jo wld ask us not 2 fight hate with hate but to draw together 2 drain the swamp that extremism breeds in," he wrote. "Thinking of all victims of hatred 2day."
