THE square outside the church in the centre of Darlington was empty save for a few black-clad figures huddled under dark umbrellas.

There was still half an hour to go before the funeral of best friends Lee Mullis, 14, and Stuart Adams, 15, who died three weeks ago while they played on train tracks in the town.

Then, all of a sudden, their friends arrived. Hordes upon hordes of silent children, dressed in their school uniforms, looking confused and a little afraid as they entered Bondgate Methodist Church.

Most, as the Reverend Graham Morgan later acknowledged, had probably never been to a funeral before.

After they were ushered upstairs to fill the balcony of the church -a circle of about 500 seats -he quietly requested that they switch off their mobile phones before the service.

The young faces were not yet etched with grief as they looked down on the empty church -that was to come later, at the end of a heartbreaking hour-long service.

Just before 1.15pm, the coffins carrying the two boys were brought into church, followed by Lee and Stuart's families.

A high-energy tune, Walk on Water, chosen by Lee's sister Linzi, marked their entrance, but it could not mask the sorrow of the relatives, who clutched one another for support.

The terrible nature of the boys' deaths was alluded to immediately by Mr Morgan.

He said: "We would much rather the tragedy had never happened and that Stuey and Lee were still with us.

"Sadly, it did happen, and being here this afternoon is part of that reality."

In front of him and his wife, the Reverend Emma Morgan, stood photographs of the two boys, who were about to become handsome, confident young men.

Their smiling faces, full of youthful mischief, provided an unbearable contrast to the two coffins in which they lay.

The service that followed told the story of two loveable lads and their remarkable friendship.

It even elicited laughs on occasion, as tales of their cheeky antics were recounted.

Lee, those at the funeral heard, loved to play practical jokes.

"He was never malicious, just mischievous and often ingenious," said Mr Morgan, telling how Lee had once helped out at a school open evening by putting a pin-prick in the bottom of every plastic cup.

The mourners in the balcony chuckled quietly when Mrs Morgan said that Stuart was also not "a mad fan of school". She also said the pair of them would mess around in the school kitchen "like the Chuckle Brothers".

Both boys loved to spend hours getting ready in front of the bathroom mirror, splashing on aftershave and ensuring they were immaculately dressed.

Both were also a hit with the girls and incredibly sporting, with Lee hoping to embark on a professional golfing career and Stuart a keen football and biking fan.

The ministers told how both boys were loved more than words could ever say by those closest to them, their families.

A hip-hop track, I'll Be Missing You, chosen by Stuart's family, played as the boys' coffins were carried out.

The throng of youngsters up above, so still and silent earlier on, now seemed to shake as one with grief. A teenage boy dressed in crisp white shirt and black tie, clung to the balcony, eyes red-rimmed, unable to hold back the tears.

Outside, the grey rain drizzled as two hearses carried the boys to their resting places.

But the children seemed reluctant to leave the square outside the church. They lingered for a long time, scattered around, smoking cigarettes, talking about the boys, locked in miserable embraces.

* The Northern Echo attended the funeral with the permission of the families.