Tears and tributes to hen party bus crash victim, 18

SERIOUSLY injured survivors of the hen party M62 minibus crash were among hundreds of mourners at 18-year-old Bethany Jones’s funeral service yesterday.
Injured friends from the crash before today's service.Injured friends from the crash before today's service.
Injured friends from the crash before today's service.

The trainee nurse, of South Elmsall, near Pontefract, was killed and 12 women were seriously injured in the tragic incident near junction 32 of the M62 on April 26.

A total of 21 women were on the bus which had been travelling from South Elmsall to a hen party in Liverpool when it was in collision with a lorry.

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Bride-to-be Stefanie Firth, who was on crutches and wearing a neck brace, was in tears as she was consoled by her fiancé Gary Leafe at the service at St Joseph’s Church, Moothorpe, South Elmsall, which 
was followed by a private cremation.

Injured friends from the crash before today's service.Injured friends from the crash before today's service.
Injured friends from the crash before today's service.

Their wedding, which was due to be two weeks after the ill-
fated hen party, has been postponed.

Bethany’s sister Amy, 25, was one of six mourners in wheelchairs and her mother Diane, 49, was one of four using crutches.

Her brother, Ryan Jones, was one of the pallbearers. He also read a tribute from their 51-year-old father Paul, his voice breaking with emotion as he spoke: “My little girl, where do I begin?

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“Not just beautiful on the outside, but also stunning on the inside. Kind honest, caring and funny, Bethany could light up any room with her amazing smile and warmth.

“A true diamond and a friend. Forever in my heart, love Dad.”

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