Farewell to murdered teenager

Mourners have attended the funeral of murdered schoolgirl Lucy McHugh, who was found stabbed to death last month.

The body of the 13-year-old was found in woodland at Southampton Sports Centre on July 26.

Family and friends at Hollybrook Cemetery, where Lucy was laid to rest yesterday, wore green and blue – the teen’s favourite colours.

Her mother, Stacey White, said the event was to be a “celebration of her life”.

Lucy’s body was brought to the chapel in a hearse pulled by two white horses.

In a eulogy read by the Rev Sean Blackman, Lucy’s family said: “Lucy was a little hurricane of smiles and lip gloss, wearing the brightest colours possible, with no care for what anyone thought. She was a real individual and never followed the crowd.”

Stephen-Alan Nicholson, who was arrested on suspicion of murder and sexual activity with a child, was released on police bail on July 31 but remanded in custody at Southampton Magistrates’ Court after he was charged under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) for failing to provide his Facebook password to detectives.

He is understood to have been living with the family in the months before the teen’s death and was a colleague of Lucy’s mother, a care worker, as well as a part-time tattooist.

The 24-year-old will next appear at Southampton Crown Court on August 31.

The body of Lucy McHugh, 13, was found in woodland.

Horses pull the hearse.