Hundreds mourn knife victim Ben

8:40pm Friday 18th July 2008

Stars from the world of entertainment joined more than 1,000 mourners for the funeral of teenager Ben Kinsella.

Ben, the brother of former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, died after he was stabbed during a night out in north London.

Dozens of the 16-year-old's friends dressed up in colourful wigs, outsized sunglasses and T-shirts bearing anti-knife crime slogans for his funeral.

They were joined at the service by a number of former EastEnders stars, politicians and actors.

The ceremony at St John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, in Islington, was so well attended that hundreds were forced to wait outside in the rain as the service began.

In a deliberate twist from traditional funeral convention, many of Ben's friends came dressed in bright colours with some bearing a single white or red rose.

And in another break from tradition, the teenager's purple coffin was brought out from the church to sustained applause.

Following his death Miss Kinsella, who played Kelly Taylor in the TV soap, pleaded for others to learn from his death and lay down their weapons.

Ben was stabbed several times in York Way, Islington, after a fight in a bar spilled out on to the streets on June 29. His friend Louis Robson, 16, the son of Birds Of A Feather actress Linda Robson, was with him as he died.

Three teenagers have been charged with Ben's murder.

EDITOR'S CHOICE