More than 300 mourners gathered to pay their respects to the 26-year-old at St Chad's Church in Poulton yesterday.

Rain fell heavily as the congregation wept for the loss of the young Poulton man, who died after going missing in Scorton, near Garstang, four weeks ago.

Family and friends joined the police search after Mr Thomson – who had suffered a brain injury in a car crash in 2005 – went missing from his home on Nightingale Drive.

His body was found in a ditch by his stepfather.

Loved ones paid tribute to the way Mr Thomson coped after the car accident – "always with a twinkle in his eye and a smile".

Mr Thomson's mother Maggie Hanson, comforted by husband Steve, struggled to hold back the tears as she walked behind her son's coffin, carried by his friends.

In a tribute read out during the service, Mrs Hanson, 57, of Kingfisher Drive, Poulton, said the family were thinking of him being in a "good place" now.

She said: "He was always loving and caring. He had a wicked sense of humour and a twinkle in his eyes. He was a very intelligent boy, he was very popular but always a bit mischievous.

"The crash changed his life completely. Every day was a challenge for him but through it all he retained his sense of humour. He never complained despite his physical ailments and inability to remember things.

"Everyone was there for David and it's been nothing short of amazing to read the tributes on Facebook and in The Gazette."

FOR THE FULL STORY AND MORE TRIBUTES SEE FRIDAY'S GAZETTE.