"Line the street" appeal ahead of funeral of former councillor

AN APPEAL has been issued to give a former councillor and campaigner a stirring send-off tomorrow.

Coronavirus restrictions mean mourner numbers are limited for the funeral of Irene Furnell (pictured) this morning, so friend Steve Rogers has asked for well-wishers to gather on Ridgeway, East Herringthorpe, outside Rotherham Crematorium for a “public display of our affection, respect and sense of loss”.

People are asked to gather by 11.20am, ahead of the funeral itself at 11.45am.

The gathering would be socially-distanced, said Mr Rogers.

Mrs Furnell served at a Labour councillor on Rotherham Council from 1990 to 2004.

Steve’s wife Nicky, another close friend, paid the following tribute following Mrs Furnell’s death last month: “She was a warrior for others, a real fighter for social justice, and a fantastic councillor in her time, completely committed to the people she served in Central Ward.”

Fellow campaigner Michael Sylvester called her “an absolute lioness who would always if needed tell friend & foe what they didn’t want to hear”.