Crowds gathered inside and outside York Minster today for the funeral of local war hero Marine David Charles Hart.

Marine Hart, from Poppleton, died while on foot patrol in Afghanistan's notorious Helmand province on July 8, the eve of his 24th birthday.

His funeral service saw about 500 people gather outside the Minster to pay their respects to the serviceman, with a spontaneous round of applause breaking out within the cathedral as Marine Hart's coffin was carried out at the end of the service.

One comrade, Marine Tim Sage of 45 Commando, said Marine Hart "died doing what he loved".

He said: "He was always smiling and always had a big cheeky smile on his face."

He said the Marines were "one big, close family" and that such tragedies "rippled through the core from top to bottom".