Hundreds line the streets to bid farewell to Joe Longthorne MBE

Crowds lined the streets of Hull yesterday to pay their respects to the entertainer who passed away peacefully earlier this month.

Well wishers gathered on Hessle Road in Hull to watch the funeral procession slowly drive past the area where he grew up.

The funeral cortege took Joe past some of his beloved landmarks such as Music Hall Tavern, the Winter Gardens and the Grand Theatre.

He arrived at shortly after 12pm at the Heavenly Services’ funeral parlour on Hessle Road, a building he himself opened just 2 months ago.

His friends and family gathered at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church for the Requiem Mass at 12 noon.

He will be buried in Layton Cemetery on Tuesday and his family have invited everyone back to Viva Blackpool afterwards to help celebrate his life.

Joe enjoyed over 50 years in the entertainment industry, as a singer and top-rate impressionist, and carried on performing up until his death despite a diagnosis of throat cancer in 2014.