A heartbroken community came together to say their heartfelt goodbyes to an "irreplaceable" 18-year-old.

The funeral of Skye Olivia Mitchell was held yesterday, almost two weeks after the Millom teenager died in an accident on the A595.

Hundreds of family and friends gathered at Our Lady and St James' RC Church for the 90-minute service.

The beauty queen arrived at the ceremony in style, in a horse-drawn white carriage, as many followed behind.

Skye had proved more than capable of wearing many crowns in her life, and was carried into the church to a guard of honour flanked by two contrasting teams to the song The Most Beautiful Girl in the World by Prince.

On one side stood members of the fire service, where Miss Mitchell volunteered, while the other saw around 30 beauty queens from the north of England.

Among them were Miss England Elizabeth Grant and Miss Teen Great Britain Ashleigh Wild.

The family's tributes inside the church were led by Sheelagh Wilson, who said: "It has been difficult to condense all Skye has achieved in her life and tell you about the girl we all love. I could have written volumes. She was irreplaceable.

"She was a bright child at school and she knew what she wanted. She developed great confidence and was a brilliant actor.

"When she was carnival queen in 2012 she became hooked on the pageants and travelled with Team North.

"By using her title as Miss South Lakes she was able to do an anti-bullying campaign because she was so passionate about helping others.

"She loved her modelling and was a photographer's dream, but she dreamed of reading the news and she would have been famous. I know that without a doubt.

"She was a daredevil and would try anything. Nothing fazed her.

"In her 18 years she touched the lives of so many people and made her mark on the world. She was a beautiful girl inside and out and we will all miss her hugs, but we know she has her angel arms around us right now."

The ceremony also heard a tribute from Millom School, where Miss Mitchell had recently finished studying her A-Levels, as well as Mark Jones, who represented the pageant community.

He said: "We were blessed to know her for five years. She was only 13 when she came in for our junior show and she bounded in full of energy and lit up the Coronation Hall.

"What stood out about her was her selflessness and love for others and she wanted to make everyone else feel at ease.

"Losing Skye has left a huge hole in our lives but she touched more people's lives in 18 years than most people do in their lifetime. She made us better."

Miss Mitchell was carried out of the church to Coldplay's Sky Full of Stars, before making their way to Thorncliffe Crematorium, Barrow.