TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill yesterday as hundreds of mourners paid their respects to a popular teenager killed in a car accident.

About 300 people attended the funeral of 18-year-old Rebecca Gray, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The teenager died on November 30, after the car she was driving was involved in a head-on collision in Skegness, Lincolnshire.

Her death was made even more devastating by the fact she had already battled back against a life-threatening illness. Rebecca was diagnosed with cancer when she was 12, but after painful chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, she was told the disease was in remission.

Yesterday, a funeral cortege left Rebecca's parents' home in Brafferton, near Darlington, and travelled to St Andrew's Church, in Aycliffe Village, where she was laid to rest.

Traffic on the A167 was brought to a halt as mourners walked in the rain to the church.

During her fight against Hodgkins lymphoma, she continued to live life to the full, combining her studies with the love of her life, pony riding.

While she was undergoing chemotherapy, and watched by her proud parents, Brenda and Steven, she rode one of her ponies at a show in Wembley, London.

This year, the 18-year-old went to work at Butlins, in Skegness and enrolled on a leisure and tourism course at a college in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Just days before her death, she learned that she had been successful in an interview to become a holiday representative in Spain.

Rebecca's family have asked for any donations to be sent to the Children's Cancer Fund, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Queen Victoria Road, Newcastle, NE1 4LP, ref: Becky Gray.