Dunblane funerals held

The funerals of four more five-year-old victims of the Dunblane massacre were held yesterday.

The funeral of John Petrie was held at the small Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family. Many were in an overflow church hall with more outside in the church grounds to hear the service relayed over a small loudspeaker.

Less than an hour later, other mourners were being told how Victoria Clydesdale begged her mother to let her go to school last Wednesday even though she had a rash. Victoria did not want to miss gym class, The Rev William Gilmour told 300 people at Lecropt Kirk outside Dunblane.

Bouquets and posies formed an array of colour against the grey walls of St Blane's church, where the funeral of Emily Morton took place. Her mother Kathryn was on duty at Stirling Royal Infirmary when news of the massacre broke.

Two hundred yards away, the funeral of Mhairi McBeath was held at Dunblane Cathedral. Her father Murray, a lecturer in religious studies at Stirling University, died in October.