HUNDREDS of mourners at the funeral of two boys killed on a railway line were urged yesterday to unite to improve life for young people.

The family and friends of Lee Mullis, 14, and Stuart Adams, 15, who were hit by a train in Darlington on Good Friday, heard a plea from the Reverend Graham Morgan to work together for change.

At the end of the service at Bondgate Methodist Church, in Darlington, he prayed for the boys' relatives and their schoolfriends, adding: "We pray for those who were with them on that tragic day and remember also the one who was driving the train.

"We pray for the wider community and confess in no short measure that we have failed our young people. Help us to face up to our responsibility, that some good may come of this tragedy."

Later, Mr Morgan told The Northern Echo he wanted churches, schools, community groups and the local authority to join together to give teenagers in Darlington more to do.

More than 600 people were estimated to have attended the joint service, which Mr Morgan gave with his wife, the Reverend Emma Morgan.

Hundreds of the mourners were pupils from the boys' school, Longfield Comprehensive, which closed at lunch time to allow them to attend.

The congregation was told of the two boys' friendship, which lasted from early childhood until their deaths on the East Coast Main Line at Five Arches Bridge, and Mr Morgan urged them not to dwell on the manner of the boys' deaths.

"Rather, you should remember their lives and all that made them the lads that they were. In such a way, their memories will be kept alive," he said.

After the service, Lee's relatives attended a private cremation at Darlington Crematorium and Stuart's a private burial at North Cemetery. Wakes were held at Darlington Golf Club and Simpson Rolling Mills Club.

l The Northern Echo attended yesterday's funeral with the permission of both families.

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