Bye-bye, Bradley
You’re our superhero in the sky, says mother of the boy, 6, whose brave cancer battle inspired millions
LINING the streets in the colours of Bradley Lowery’s beloved Sunderland AFC, thousands turned out for the six-year- old’s funeral yesterday.
The football-mad youngster who touched the hearts of millions died last week after a five-year cancer fight.
More than 3,000 mourners gathered in Blackhall, County Durham, ahead of the service at St Joseph’s Catholic Church.
Striker Jermain Defoe, who struck up a friendship with the child when he was a Sunderland mascot, wore an England shirt with Bradley’s name on the back with the number six.
Parents Gemma and Carl Lowery, both 34, and 15-year- old brother Kieran, walked behind Bradley’s coffin that was decorated with pictures of Sunderland’s ground.
At the funeral Mrs Lowery read a poem called Bradley’s Smile that ended with the lines: ‘We’ll meet again, our superhero, high up in the sky.’ Sunderland boss Simon Grayson and exmanager David Moyes also went to the funeral, along with several players, and many mourners dressed as superheroes.
Crowds lining the streets outside listened to the service over loudspeakers. Father Ian Jackson said: ‘He loved cuddles, he was warm and embracing and he touched the lives of us all.
‘Because of his wonderful little personality he managed to bring great attention to childhood cancer and became a real celebrity.’ Marc Lyden-Smith, chap- lain to Sunderland AFC, said: ‘He’s been an inspiration and a friend to sports stars, he’s been a light to many people in the darkest of places.’
Bradley was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which attacks the nervous system, when he was 18 months old.