The 15-year-old Anthony Gell pupil, who lived in Leabrooks near Alfreton, died after a two-year battle with skin cancer.

St Thomas' Church in Somercotes was packed as her friends and family gathered to remember her on Thursday.

Father Geoffrey Knox told the congregation: "Katie was the most amazing daughter any parents could wish for and her and Chris were not only brother and sister but best mates as well; always there for one another, always sticking up for each other.

"She was a bubbly, vivacious, outgoing and a kind girl with a good sense of humour and sense of fun."

Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven and Time of Your Life by Green Day rang out around the church during the service and some of Katie's school
friends played To a Wild Rose on trumpets and piano.

Katie's brother, Chris, gave a reading that finished: "You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back, or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on."

The family will continue raising money for the Myfanwy Townsend Melanoma Research Fund, which raises money to help victims of skin cancer and help towards research into the disease, with £8,500 collected through a sponsored walk in the village at the weekend.