Jermain Defoe among mourners at Bradley Lowery's funeral

Hundreds of mourners have lined the street outside St Joseph Church in Blackhall, County Durham, to pay their respects to the six-year-old.

The horse-drawn hearse carrying little Bradley was the final part of the procession, with his coffin adorned by red and white flowers made famous by his beloved Sunderland AFC.

The England striker left a pre-season training camp in Spain with his new club Bournemouth so he can attend the funeral of his "best friend".

On the club's Twitter feed, Bournemouth wrote: '@IAmJermainDefoe has today departed our pre-season training camp and returned to the United Kingdom for the funeral of Bradley Lowery'.

Friends and relatives walked behind dressed in superhero costumes and a variety of football shirts, some bearing "Bradley" and the number six, while balloons were released from within the crowd.

The family said the funeral was open to everyone and that there was no formal dress code.

Speakers outside will allow anyone who is unable to get into the church to listen to the service.

FACEBOOK TRIBUTE School pupils wanted to pay their respects to Bradley

Sunderland's former manager David Moyes also attended the funeral.

Defoe struck up a friendship with Bradley after the little boy appeared as a mascot for Sunderland.

Bradley died last Friday following a lengthy battle with cancer, having been diagnosed at just 18 months old.

The Sunderland fan died last week after a long fight against neuroblastoma - and his touching journey was followed by thousands of people across the world.

Tributes poured in from around the world when his parents announced his death on Facebook.

Their statement added: 'You can wear whatever you want for the funeral but the family and friends have chosen the theme cancer has no colours.