WARM tributes were paid to 'Mr Worcester' today - with hundreds of people flocking to Mike Layland's funeral.

Around 250 people attended Worcester Cathedral to pay their respects to one of the city's most cherished sons after his death at the age of 81.

The Dean of Worcester the Very Reverend Peter Atkinson conducted the service, hailing the ex-councillor as a figure of "remarkable distinction".

Calling him "a servant of this city", Rev Atkinson remarked upon Mr Layland's 44 years service in which he clocked up a long list of accolades.

"After Mike died, the Worcester News ran a series of pictures of Mike, and those pictures tell a story of his life," he said.

"In all the pictures there was the same smile, the same determination, the same sense of purpose, the same sense of pride in this city, running through them."

He reeled off a list of some of Mr Layland's achievements citing his two stints as city mayor, his role as Worcester's last ever High Sheriff in 1973/74, his carnival committee chairmanship for 27 years and 44 years as a city councillor, which started in 1966.

He also cited the street in Diglis now named after Mr Layland, called 'Layland Walk', just yards from where he was born as one of seven children.

Saluting his "remarkable distinction of being made a Freeman of the City" in 2014, Rev Atkinson told the gathering: "He set about making sure the city of his birth and his upbringing, the city of his choice, was as good as he could help to make it."

A host of current and former councillors, MPs, peers, council workers and civic dignitaries attended the funeral, as well as members of the public.

The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regimental Association also played a part, receiving and returning the standards at the start and end of the funeral.

An organist played 'Nimrod' from Enigma Variations by Sir Edward Elgar at the beginning of the funeral, followed by hymns, a bible reading and poetry.

After prayers, The Last Post then brought the service to a close, with people invited to pay more tributes in a gathering at Worcester's Guildhall this afternoon.