South Shields funeral: Liam and Chloe were an "image of love"

A funeral is being held for a "perfect" young couple who were killed in theManchester Arena bombing.

The service for Liam Curry, 19, and Chloe Rutherford, 17, is at St Hilda's Church in South Shields, South Tyneside.

The couple's families had asked people attending the funeral to wear pink and blue.

The teenagers, who were described as "inseparable", were among the 22 people killed in the terror attack on the Ariana Grande concert last month.

At the start of the service, Father Chris Fuller described the couple as "an image of love".

• Read more: South Shields remembers teenage sweethearts

Miss Rutherford was studying music at college and was about to start anapprenticeship in travel.

Graeme Brett, owner of Westoe Travel in South Shields where she workedpart-time, said:

Mr Curry, a former pupil of Gateshead College, was studying for a degree insport and exercise science at Northumbria University.

His father, Andrew Curry, died aged 49 in March after being diagnosed withcancer.

Liam had raised money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, which funds cancer research, since he was 14.

A foundation spokeswoman said: "Liam was an outstanding young man and a great credit to his family."