HUNDREDS of people turned out to celebrate the life of a Stourbridge woman whose love of the festive season inspired a Christmas lights tradition that became world famous.

Friends and family paraded behind a white horse drawn carriage which carried Rachel Shaw in a sparkly coffin to her funeral at Stourbridge Crematorium on Tuesday August 2.

The 53-year-old, from Leonard Road, Wollaston, who was born with Down’s Syndrome, performed in local stage shows and was a track and field competitor with Dudley Olympics for many years but it was her love of the festive season that really left its mark.

Stourbridge News: Rachel Shaw whose love of Christmas inspired the Leonard Road festive lights display that became world famousRachel Shaw whose love of Christmas inspired the Leonard Road festive lights display that became world famous

The joy that Christmas brought her spread around the neighbourhood and inspired the residents of Leonard Road to turn their street into what was once thought to be the most decorated in the world.

Stourbridge News: The Christmas lights in Leonard RoadThe Christmas lights in Leonard Road

For years the street got brighter and busier each year until the annual festive tradition was eventually shelved but Rachel never stopped believing in the magic of Christmas and still believed in Father Christmas, her relatives said.

She began suffering from dementia around five years ago and more recently she developed pneumonia and she passed away at home on July 17 surrounded by family.

To give her the kind of sparkly send-off she would have wanted – her mum Glenis and dad Harry, both 77, pulled out all the stops to arrange an all-singing all-dancing funeral for Rachel who was known as “the dancing queen”.

For her final journey, she was transported in a silver glitter coffin on a white horse-drawn carriage from her home in Leonard Road to the crematorium in South Road.

Stourbridge News: A horse-drawn carriage carried Rachel Shaw on her short journey from her home in Leonard Road to Stourbridge CrematoriumA horse-drawn carriage carried Rachel Shaw on her short journey from her home in Leonard Road to Stourbridge Crematorium

Mourners – some wearing leopard print attire (Rachel’s favourite) – paraded behind on foot for the short journey ahead of a service where a celebration of her action-packed life was held.

Stourbridge News: People lined the streets as the funeral procession made its way to the crematoriumPeople lined the streets as the funeral procession made its way to the crematorium

Her cousin Ceri Green said: “It was beautiful. There were 300 or more people there – there were even people lining the streets.”

She said there were no seats left inside the chapel where people stood up and danced and clapped along to Abba’s Dancing Queen and she added: “All the people outside were dancing and clapping to the songs.

“The funeral directors said they’d never had a funeral like it before. It was amazing – a proper fitting celebration of her life.

“There were even Christmas lights in the chapel and a disco ball, and diamante glitter lights on her coffin. Even the horses had diamantes. It was outstanding.

“People kept saying it’s the best funeral we’ve ever been to. We think we’ve started a new trend. It was brilliant.

“We couldn’t have asked for better…and we carried on the celebrations at The Fox at Stourton afterwards. We had a beautiful day.”

Money collected in Rachel’s memory is to be donated to The Crystal Gateway in Brettell Lane, Amblecote, which helps people with dementia and their families.

Anyone still wishing to make a donation can contact H Porter and Sons in South Road, Stourbridge.

Ceri said she and a number of other relatives are now planning to get tattoos in memory of Rachel.

She said it was “a privilege and honour” to say she was her cousin and she added: “She’ll always be with us.”