Jazz fan Peter Burtenshaw was determined his funeral was not going to be a sombre affair.

Peter, who died from an asbestos-related disease last week at the age of 60, wanted to leave his family and friends with happy memories. His widow Patricia, daughter Lisa and son Mark arranged for the funeral cortege to be led by jazz band The South Coast Stompers yesterday.

The six-man band arrived at the family's home in Wadhurst Rise, Brighton, at 3pm and stood outside playing a selection of breezy trad jazz, including an adaption of the classic Ain't Misbehavin', while neighbours gathered in their doorways to watch.

By the time the hearse arrived at 3.15pm, a crowd of 20 people had gathered outside the house. Finally the family appeared, got into their waiting limousine and the cortege pulled off, led by the band who carried on playing, as they led a procession of 20 cars.

The South Coast Stompers, dressed in striped blazers, white trousers and straw boaters, cut a dramatic contrast with the sombre black of the cortege as they continued slowly down The Broadway and up Manor Hill.

The streets of Whitehawk were brought almost to a standstill as the procession headed towards Brighton Racecourse. The band arrived at the Downs Crematorium, in Bear Road, ahead of the cortege and, still playing, led it up to the chapel entrance where more than 200 people waited to pay their respects to Peter, who was well-known in the Brighton jazz scene and throughout the Whitehawk estate.

Then as the Stompers played the haunting Old Buggy Cross, the mourners filed into the chapel. Once inside, Peter's family and colleagues from his tiling business joined with friends from the music world in a celebration of his life.

The service, led by Ann Mitchell, of the Humanitarian Society, included music-loving Peter's favourite jazz and pop songs from the last 30 years. The first song was Peter's favourite, Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, which his son Mark said summed up his father's philosophy and the way he lived his life.

Other songs included Irish folk tune, The Wild Rover, and music by Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, and the Dubliners. there was a reading of a poem Peter wrote for his little grand-daughter, Bethany, shortly before he died.

Mark read Rudyard Kipling's If and Lord Alfred Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade and made a short speech remembering his father's life. He said: "My father loved life and he was such a cheerful person. He wanted his funeral to be a cheerful affair and we carried out his wishes."

Peter was diagnosed two years ago with the throat disease which eventually led to his death and which doctors said was caused by working with asbestos. He had worked in the construction business in Brighton all his life and even built his own home at Wadhurst Rise.

One of his jobs was to strip asbestos out of homes in central Brighton to make way for the old Churchill Square shopping development. Mark said: "He bravely fought his throat infection and in the end could hardly swallow. He was a great guy who loved his music.

Don McMurray, of the South Coast Stompers, said: "We had seen Peter around in the scene for years. All Brighton's jazz musicians will remember him from the gigs and the pubs."

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