Hundreds of mourners line streets for murdered Bobbi-Anne McLeod’s funeral

Hundreds of people have paid tribute to teenager Bobbi-Anne McLeod at her funeral six months after her murder.

Members of the public lined the streets of Leigham as a horse-drawn carriage took the 18-year-old’s coffin to St Andrew’s Church in Royal Parade.

Miss McLeod was murdered in November last year by Cody Ackland, 24, who attacked her with a claw hammer as she waited for a bus. Last week Mr Ackland, who admitted her murder, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 31 years.

Mourners attending the service for the teenager were asked to wear black trousers and T-shirts featuring rock bands, such as Queen, ACDC, Oasis and Pink Floyd, in honour of the popular student.

Many also wore turquoise-coloured ribbons on their T-shirts.

Lord Mayor of Plymouth Sue Dann and local Tory MP Johnny Mercer were among those attending the service.

The teenager’s turquoise coffin, which had “Bobbi” written on the side, was carried into the church by pallbearers with her family following behind.

As the hearse left the church, people outside broke into a spontaneous round of applause.

During Ackland’s trial, the court heard how he was obsessed with serial killers.

He is said to have bundled the teenager into his car and driven to a remote spot on Dartmoor where he murdered her, before dumping her body near Bovisand.

The day after the murder Ackland threw the hammer into the River Tamar and a carrier bag containing his and Miss McLeod’s blood-stained clothing into nearby allotments.

In a victim impact statement, Miss McLeod’s family said: “Our lives have changed forever. We have not been able to say goodbye to Bobbi-Anne and we can only imagine the things he did to her – the thoughts are continually going around in our minds.

“Why Bobbi-Anne? Why make her suffer? To know her final hours were spent being tortured destroys us inside.”