Tom Parker and his The Wanted bandmates smiling at event
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The Wanted carry Tom Parker’s coffin at emotional London funeral

His bandmates carried his coffin to the service

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The Wanted stars paid tributes to their bandmate Tom Parker at his funeral today as they carried in his coffin.

Jay McGuiness, Max George, Siva Kaneswaran and Nathan Sykes served as pallbearers at Wednesday’s service.

Hundreds of fans lined the streets to pay their respects to Tom outside St Francis of Assisi church in southeast London.

Tom Parker's coffin on the way to the funeral
Tom Parker’s funeral took place on Wednesday (Credit: ED! exclusive)

Tom Parker funeral

The private service was attended by Tom’s family and friends, but fans were able to watch it on screens outside.

Read more: Tom Parker’s wife Kelsey calls him her ‘soulmate’ in heartbreaking eulogy at funeral

Tom’s bandmates remembered their inspirational and brave friend during the service.

Max stood up during the service to deliver a heartbreaking eulogy as he said Tom was a “brother to me”.

The Wanted singer Tom Parker smiles during interview on This Morning
The Wanted singer Tom Parker sadly died in March following a battle with brain cancer (Credit: ITV)

Max George tribute

He said: “It is with deepest sadness that we are here today.

“But I’m going to try and say somethings from us boys, that will make you smile about Tom.

“Tom was, and always will be, a brother to me and my bandmates. He made us smile from the start.

“His love for music and strive for success outmatched any of us.

“His feistiness outmatched anyone on the planet. He’s the only member of The Wanted that has had a punch up with every member of the The Wanted.”

The Wanted stars carry Tom Parker's coffin to funeral service today April 20, 2022
Tom’s The Wanted bandmates carried his coffin today (Credit: LBC News)

Max went on to say that he’ll “always remember” Tom’s laugh.

He concluded: “All I have got to say is he left us far too early and we’ll miss him so much.

“I think the heartbreak shared today is a credit to the love Tom spread around the world. The people outside, the people there today all over the world. You rest easy mate.”

Meanwhile, Siva also stood up to deliver an emotional tribute to his The Wanted bandmate.

Tom Parker smiles with The Wanted bandmates at event
Tom’s The Wanted bandmates paid tributes to him today (Credit: Newscom/Cover Images)

He said: “The loss of someone you love is such an undefinable thing. It appears sharply in our lives and can overwhelm us with sadness.

“If we were to close our eyes and remember Tom as a person, I bet all of us would come up with totally different accounts of him.

“One as a loving friend, husband, brother, father and son, he was all of these and so much more.

“I know there’s one thing we can all agree on – Tom Parker was an absolute hero.”

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The Wanted tributes

Siva also recalled the early days of his friendship with Tom and how he helped others with choreography.

He added that Tom was a “true softie inside and out” and when “that boy loved, he loved hard, and you felt it”.

The singer said Tom’s wife Kelsey and their two children, Aurelia and Bodhi, were “everything he loved about life”.

He added: “The boy was an absolute firecracker, and his fans always got that Parker presence.”

Read more: Emmerdale’s Tony Audenshaw on ‘unfair’ death of his wife at the age of just 43

Siva also read out a poem, which said: “Tom, we miss you so much it hurts, We thought we’d have more time.

“What an honour it has been for us. To see your spirit shine. We remember all the good times.

“That we got to share together. Because those days, our old friend, Those days are gold forever, Rest in peace, Tom.”

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Rebecca Carter
Associate Editor (News)

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