Grandmother taken to own funeral in luggage hold of bus

Grandmother Ada Nelson got a hearse class ticket to her funeral - carried in the rear of a coach. The unusual send-off was the 63-year-old cancer victim's idea.

Family, friends and even pet dog Shadow rode above her in the 49-seater as it took the wicker coffin to a crematorium.

Carl Marlow, of funeral firm Go As You Please, helped gran-of-six Ada, plan the day. He said: "I knew that Ada didn't want cars.



"She said she wanted to travel with the family. I think people were pleasantly surprised."

Her widower Andy, 66, a retired engineer from Wallsend, Tyne And Wear, said his wife of 43-years was "a plain Geordie lass". He added: "Everybody who was there - they won't forget Ada's funeral. Quite a lot of them afterwards, including her two best friends, accepted that that is the way to go.

"It was a celebration of her life, not her death. It was perfectly normal and that is what she wanted. She didn't want any of this doom and gloom."