The funeral for Sir Tom Finney brought Preston almost to a standstill yesterday as thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the former England internationalist.

Finney, who died earlier this month aged 91, was given a civic funeral by his home town comprising a procession from Deepdale to Preston Minster.

The former forward spent his entire career playing for Preston North End, a spell which spanned 14 years, and is considered to be one of the greatest players. His esteem in the game was made clear by those who attended his funeral - with such as David Moyes, a former Preston manager, and erstwhile England team-mate Sir Bobby Charlton among those invited to the Minster.

The eulogy was given by Tommy Docherty, the former Scotland player and manager who played alongside Finney at Preston. "He was the greatest player I have ever seen," said Docherty. "When I see Lionel Messi on the television playing for Barcelona I think 'maybe you could be as good as Tom'. He was quiet and modest but he was amazing, he had two great feet and made ordinary players on his team look good - and I should know."