SCHOOL children and teachers have paid their last respects to a schoolgirl who died suddenly last week.

More than 600 pupils and staff at Danley Middle School in Halfway, near Sheerness, left their classrooms to watch former pupil Sarah Gisby's funeral cortege pass through the school grounds on the way to her funeral in Maidstone.

A coachload of friends and teachers from Minster College also travelled to Vinters Park Crematorium. Sarah, 14, of Halfway Road, Sheerness, died of a twisted gut.

The Minster College student, described by her family as a happy and caring child, attended Danleyfor four years.

Her father, Paul, is a classroom assistant there and her younger brother Daniel, 12, also attends the school.

Minster College headteacher Hugh Robinson said the crematorium had been full of family and friends, with many people having to stand through the service.

He added: "It was a very sad occasion. There were a lot of young people there and a lot of flowers."