Crowds gather in Newhaven for fisherman’s funeral – in pictures

Robert Morley, 38, from Pembrokeshire and Adam Harper, 26, from Brixham, Devon, died when the Joanna C fishing boat sank off the coast of Newhaven on November 21, last year. Mr Harper’s body was recovered from the wreck two days later, but Mr Morley’s remains were only identified in February. Robert’s stepfather Barry Woolford, from Brixham, said at the time: “To all the beautiful people of Brixham it is with much sadness that I have to inform you that our son Robert Morley has been identified as the body that was brought from the sea at Bexhill in December. Thank you all for your fantastic support and love these past 12 weeks.” Hundreds of people attended Mr Morley’s funeral in Newhaven on Monday – where a procession made its way along the seafront led by a piper. Mr Morley was born in Newhaven and had moved to Pembrokeshire, the BBC reports. It added that his mother, Jackie Woolford, previously said her son had ‘always wanted to be on the sea’, adding that she wanted him to be remembered ‘with this big cheeky grin on his face’. Three crew members were on board the 45ft scalloping vessel which sank at about 6am on November 21, three miles out to sea. Only the skipper, Dave Bickerstaff, survived. He was pulled from the water by lifeboat crews after he was found clinging to a lifebuoy. The tragedy sparked a major multi-agency search which continued throughout the Saturday and Sunday. Once the search was called off on November 22, hundreds of people, including emergency teams included in the search, attended a vigil in Newhaven to send their thoughts to those affected. Mr Morley’s stepfather Barry Woolford had previously described Dave Bickerstaff as ‘an absolute hero’ for trying to save his fellow crew members.