A MAN killed when a car hit his carriage made his fitting final journey in a horse-drawn hearse yesterday.

Terry Wood, 40, died last month in an accident which left his teenage son, Lewis, in hospital and resulted in one of his beloved horses having to be destroyed.

Hundreds of friends, family and members of the travelling community gathered at St James' Church, in Coundon, County Durham.

The coffin was brought to the church in a black carriage with cut-glass windows, pulled by two black horses with plumes on their heads, while a procession of horses followed closely behind.

Lewis, 14, who suffered a fractured pelvis, concussion and numerous cuts and bruises in the crash on April 21, attended the funeral in a wheelchair, having left hospital on Tuesday.

Mr Wood's wife Alison, who he met aged 13 and married at the same venue in 1989, was also in church as was his daughter Megan and mother Vera. Hundreds of other people listened to the service from outside.

Leading the tributes was Father Robert McTeer, who said: "It is with a sense of disbelief and shock that we all come here today.

"We'd all like to put the clock back and do something to stop this sad, tragic death, but we all known that's not possible.

"All we can do is to hang on to our memories and our love of Terry."

He was riding a four-wheel carriage behind Lewis' two-wheeled trap on the A689, in Coundon, when a car collided with them, knocking Mr Wood's carriage into his son's.

The youngest of five children, Mr Wood was a keen Manchester United fan but horses were his main passion.

Father McTeer said: "He was very much involved with them.

"He trained them, he bred them and was very well known in horse circles.

"Terry has a lot of friends who shared his passion for horses. It was indeed very much part of Terry's life."

Father McTeer said that Mrs Wood had described him as "a great husband and not just her partner but also her friend" and his daughter said he was "the best dad ever".

He added: "He loved life. He lived it to the full."

* The Northern Echo reported on the funeral service with the permission of Mr Wood's family.