Family and friends turned out in their hundreds to say farewell to Ava-Jai McInerney.

The fifteen-month-old tot had been battling leukaemia and had received a bone marrow transplant seven months ago.

But she suffered complications following the transplant and died on Friday, October 10.

Mourners gathered at her home on Apple Tree Way in Oswaldtwistle as her tiny pink coffin was placed into a horse-drawn carriage before her funeral at Pleasington crematorium in Blackburn.

Her father Chris said: “I was shocked at how many people came, the crematorium was full, people were standing outside in the rain.

“I want to thank all our friends and family who came.

“It was amazing, it was a beautiful send off for her, and Janine and I were very proud of her.

“We took donations and the money from that is going to Derian House where we took Ava-Jai after she died.

“Janine’s sister is also doing fundraising of her own for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

“We also had a balloon release for her, everybody wrote messages on a little piece of card that was tied to the balloons when we let them go.”

Ava-Jai was rushed to hospital with suspected meningitis in November last year, but it was not until she was transferred to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital that she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a very rare cancer in babies.

After two rounds of chemotherapy, she was given a lifeline when a donor was found for her through the Anthony Nolan Trust.

Her transplant was a success, but she was prone to viruses and infections.

She was given a stem cell top up to boost her immune system in September.

But doctors had discovered that her brain had started to deteriorate.

Her parents Chris and Janine, twin brother William and older brother Brandon were given the devastating news that there was nothing more the doctors could do, and she passed away at home. Ava-Jai’s parents still do not know how their daughter died, but are hoping to get some answers when they receive the results of a post-mortem.

At the opening of her inquest on Wednesday, October 15, the coroner’s court heard that Ava-Jai was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. She was given a standard treatment and had a bone marrow transplant in March this year but suffered complications due to early virus infections.

She was taken to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital with a distended gall bladder and died on October 10 at her home.

A full inquest is due to be heard on November 4.