HUNDREDS of members of an Asian community turned out to say a final goodbye to Nabeala Hussain and her two children.

Solemn looking men and tearful women pushed flowers into the hearse as her coffin, together with the coffins of her son and daughter, were carefully placed in the back.

About 300 people crammed into the mosque in Waterloo Road, Middlesbrough, to say prayers and celebrate her life.

Why it ended in such a tragic and seemingly needless way remains a mystery - one that the 23-year-old may have taken to her grave.

The discovery of her body and that of Danial, aged three, and 22-month-old Salia Mariam in the family Vauxhall Astra, at 4.30pm on January 9, sent shockwaves though the town.

She had dowsed the front seat in fuel and set fire to the car, allowing the fumes and smoke to kill her and her two children.

Days later police revealed she also dowsed a bag of laundry containing almost £20,000 in a bid to torch the entire vehicle.

That did not happen, and horrified residents on Walpole Street called police, weeping as the bodies were pulled free.

Where the cash has come from is also a mystery.

Mrs Hussain has been described by her cousin as "a happy smiler, who was a great mother and always cheerful".

Hours before she died, she was seen leaving her home on Gresham Street, and witnesses said nothing seemed to be wrong.

Mrs Hussain's husband, Pervez Aktar, 30, moved to Middlesbrough from Pakistan about four years ago and works in a food processing plant in the town.

At the opening of her inquest on Wednesday, he confirmed he had identified the bodies of his wife and two children.

Police are continuing their inquiries and urged anyone with more information to come forward.