OVER 1,000 mourners gathered to say goodbye to murdered Graham McKenna at his funeral this week.

Family and friends packed into Our Lady's Church at midday on Monday for a poignant service for the 45-year-old former soldier.

Mr McKenna was stabbed to death in Upton Road, Claughton, on January 10 as he walked to catch a soccer bus to Goodison Park with his 14-year-old son Michael.

His coffin, draped in the Union Flag and with his army cap resting on top, was carried into the church by six members of Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) - the old Cheshire Regiment.

Mr McKenna's widow Gill, and his children Michael and Amy, 19, linked arms throughout the service.

Amy read out from a birthday card she had bought for her father last year, describing him as "irreplacable".

Mourners then heard her cousin and Mr Kenna's niece Michelle describe how his widow, Gill, "misses him every second of every day".

"This year our world came crashing down when Graham was snatched away from us leaving a huge hole in all our lives," she said.

"A life has gone out, never to be re-lit. You will be forever in our hearts."

Mr McKenna's coffin had been taken into the church to the sound of Dean Martin's That's Amore, and was taken out to The Jam's A Town Called Malice.

Close family and friends later attended a private burial service at Frankby Cemetery.

* Gary Finlay, 46, of Alexandra Road, Birkenhead, appeared before Wirral Magistrates last Friday charged with the murder of Graham McKenna and the attempted murder of his son, Michael.

The case has been committed to Liverpool Crown Court where Finlay will appear on March 19.