Mourners line the streets to pay last respects to author Sheila Quigley

The 72-year-old grandmother championed Houghton as an ambassador and defender of its services and also served as a councillor on Hetton Town Council.

The author, who wrote novels and short stories, died in the early hours of Friday, April 24, following a short spell in Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Due to the ongoing restrictions in place due to the coronavirus, her service at St Michael’s and All Angels Church on the Broadway was a private ceremony.

However, her family invited people to still be part of the day by organising a procession through the town centre, with crowds lining the side of the road to clap as she passed by in a hearse filled with floral tributes.

It began at her home in Grasswell at 1.45pm as it headed through Newbottle and then to The Beehive, before following Blind Lane to Burnside, with a drive past the town’s library as it headed along Newbottle Street to The Broadway, where a piper played as she arrived at the church.

Sheila set a number of her stories on the fictional Seahills Estate inspired by the Homelands Estate she lived on and openly set some of her dark and thrilling tales in Houghton.

She had campaigned to keep the library and others across Wearside open as Government cuts hit the city and continued to support them as several were taken on by community groups.

The former Hepworths presser, who started working for the firm aged 15, and Gateshead market trader found success as a crime writer later in life.

She published her first book Run For Home in 2004 through Random House, which is part of Penguin, with the company signing her up with a six-figure sum.

The mum-of-four went on to follow up its success with a host of other books and projects, with her last novel, Stand By Me, printed in 2011.

Friends and family have been inundated with messages from people offering their condolences and celebrating her talent since her death.

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