Hundreds turn out for funeral of MH17 campaigner Barry Sweeney

Hundreds of people have turned out for the funeral of a man who spent almost a decade of his life campaigning for justice for the victims of flight MH17.

Barry Sweeney devoted the last years of his life to the cause after his son Liam died when the plane was shot down by Russian separatists over Ukraine in 2014.

Liam and his friend, John Alder, were killed when travelling on the ill-fated flight to watch Newcastle United in a New Zealand pre-season friendly.

Mr Sweeney, who became a spokesperson for the families of those killed in the crash, died earlier this month at the age of 61.

Leading the humanist service, Andy Jones said: "You don't plan for things like this. Barry never planned on becoming a figurehead for truth and justice after Liam died. He never planned to become the spokesperson for all those families."

Hundreds of people attended his funeral in Newcastle on Friday 25 August, many wearing the black and white colours of his beloved football club.

Known as “the Rocking Ref”, Mr Sweeney was well-known in grassroots footballing circles.

His cortege was greeted by waving flags provided by community organisation Wor Flags.

The funeral was told Mr Sweeney had planned to go to New Zealand next year for the tenth anniversary of the MH17 disaster.

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