Family ask for prayer as they lay Rik Mayall to rest

Rik Mayall's funeral takes place in Devon this afternoon as his widow Barbara asks fans to "join us in thoughts and prayer at this time".

"Thank you again for all your love and support to all our family, it brings great strength," she said

The comic and actor, who had a home in Devon, collapsed at home in southwest London after what his widow described as an "acute cardiac event".

Mayall shot to fame playing poetry-writing anarchist Rick in The Young Ones and his career also included roles such as Lord Flashheart in Blackadder and the conniving Conservative MP Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman.