Misled mourners gatecrashed a funeral only to find out the man they were grieving for was still alive.

Friends of well-known Brighton DJ King Jerry turned up to pay their respects to the 65-year-old after being told he had died.

It was only when they turned up at Downs Crematorium, in Brighton, that they discovered the man dubbed the "king of the mods" was not being remembered.

They were already surprised they did not recognise any of the other mourners when they were handed an order of service with a woman's photo on the front - and realised they were in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

The mix-up happened after one of the friends, Milton Nicol from Brighton, misread a death notice in The Argus on Tuesday.

That notice paid respects to former teacher Gerry King, 62, and, in the style of the notices page, was printed with her surname first, as King Gerry.

Mrs King was a grandmother and mother-of-two who taught at Downs Primary School in the city until her retirement. She died at her home on December 14.

But Mr Nicol feared the notice was for his childhood friend, King Jerry, whose real name is Alan Morris, and quickly phoned other pals to break the bad news to them.

Fans are even believed to have launched charity collections in tribute to the popular DJ.

Regulars at King Jerry's disco and soul club nights, Milton and his wife Donna, sister Finney and friend Paul Coulter, were gutted to hear that their favourite DJ had died and vowed to pay their tributes at his funeral.

And it was not until they got to the crematorium today that they found out their friend was still alive.

Milton said: "I can't believe it. I'm in shock. I really thought he was dead.

"Everybody loves Jerry, he's a great guy and we've known him for years. He's a colourful character.

"I feel silly now but it's an easy mistake to make. I'm just pleased he's still alive. I look forward to seeing him DJ again."

One of Mrs King's daughters, Helen King, said her mother would have laughed at what happened.

She said: "Mum would have found the absurdity of the situation hilarious" and would have enjoyed the attention."

The very much alive King Jerry, co-founder of the aptly-named Soul Survivors, said: "Everywhere I go, people are saying to me, 'Oh, I thought you were dead.' "I tell them, 'I am, I'm a ghost, boo'."

Renowned as the king of the mods, Jerry, has been a DJ since he was 16 and played alongside many great names including The Who, then known as The High Numbers, in Brighton.

In 1964 he established himself as the figurehead of the movement when the infamous fights with the rockers broke out over the seafront and across the city.

His influence on the scene at that time was immortalised in the 1979 film Quadrophenia, where he provided the inspiration for the character Ace Face, played by Sting, and advised on the film's re-enactments.

Since then he has been a regular at Hot Buttered Soul nights at the King Alfred in Hove and various other venues around the city.

Last night he played at the Coral Brighton and Hove Greyhound Stadium where he proved to his many fans that he is very much alive and kicking.

Soul-Survivors co-founder Kathy Hemestretch *CORR* said their thoughts went out to Mrs King's family and that they would make a donation to Cancer Research in her memory, as was her family's request at the funeral.

She said: "I've had people phoning me up in tears saying they can't believe Jerry's dead and I have to explain that he's not.

"He is still very much full of life and is one of Brighton's living legends."

To find out more about King Jerry and the Soul Survivors, visit www.soul-survivors.co.uk.

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