Tia Sharp was laid to rest on Friday, as a grand funeral procession paid tribute to the 12-year-old schoolgirl who was found dead in her grandmother's attic last month.
A Victorian funeral carriage was led by horses with pink plumes, while a pink-stretch Hummer and a truck covered in floral tributes also made up the sombre procession into North East Surrey Crematorium, in Morden.
It has been more than a month since the schoolgirl's body was found.
A pink and white coffin could be seen in the hearse while the truck displayed a mock-up of a BlackBerry mobile phone with a photo of the 12-year-old's face in place of the screen.
Mourners dressed in black and pink at the request of the family and pink balloons were tied to railings and fences in the streets around the cemetery. Steven Carter, Tia's father, asked mourners to remember his daughter by taking a minute's silence thought at 11.30am at the start of the funeral for his 'sweet angel'. New Addington residents reported that some of the buses in the area has signs up that they too would be observing the silence.
Mr Carter asked people not to send flowers as there "had been so many requests."
Tia’s father drove down from Northampton, where he lives with his partner and eight-year-old son, to attend the funeral. He told the Evening Standard:
“To know she has just been lying there and being able to do nothing about it has been tough for the whole family. But after we lay her to rest it will give the family some peace.”
Tia's body was discovered at her grandmother Christine Sharp's home in New Addington, south London, last month, more than a week after she was reported missing.
Stuart Hazell, 37, Ms Sharp's partner, is charged with murdering the schoolgirl between 2 and 11 August. He is due to appear in court in November.
Ms Sharp, 46, was arrested on suspicion of murder but bailed last month pending further inquiries. Her next-door neighbour, Paul Meehan, 39, was bailed on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Police only discovered Tia's body after several visits to the terraced property, and have apologised to her mother, Natalie Sharp, for the delay.
A serious case review has been launched into Tia's death by Merton Council, which has responsibility for Mitcham, south London, where Tia lived with her mother.