Travellers with floral tributes shaped as whisky bottles and Rolex watches pay tribute to ‘Kent’s biggest two legends’ at funeral of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding suicide pact twins Billy and Joe Smith, 32
- Billy and Joe Smith were found hanging side by side near their homes in Sevenoaks, Kent in December
- They appeared on Channel 4’s Big Fat Gypsy Wedding series in 2013 and had both had suffered depression
- It was revealed after their death that Joe had also battled cancer and his twin found it hard to cope
- Today they are being laid to rest at Sevenoaks Cemetery after procession through town and church service
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Mourners have turned out in their hundreds for the funerals of twin brothers and stars of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding Billy and Joe Smith who killed themselves just after Christmas.
The twins, 32, were found hanging side by side from trees near their homes in Sevenoaks, Kent, on December 28 last year.
They left a suicide note for their grandmother, who later revealed Joe had battled cancer and the pair both became depressed as they struggled to cope with his diagnosis.
Today they are being laid to rest at Sevenoaks Cemetery in Kent after a procession through the town and a funeral service at St John the Baptist Church.
Friends, family and other members of the travelling community met at their grandmother Phoebe’s home in Sevenoaks this morning, carrying ornate floral tributes in the shape of a bottle of Jack Daniels and a Rolex watch, before following the funeral cortege to the church.
Mourners have turned out in their hundreds for the funerals of twin brothers and stars of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding Billy and Joe Smith who killed themselves just after Christmas. A funeral procession is pictured going through Sevenoaks, Kent this morning
A funeral hearse is pictured travelling through Sevenoaks, Kent, where the brothers lived before they were found hanging from trees near their homes three days after Christmas last year
Today the brothers are being laid to rest at Sevenoaks Cemetery in Kent after a funeral procession through the town (pictured) and a service at St John the Baptist Church
Floral tributes are pictured on the edge of the road where a funeral procession took place in Sevenoaks, Kent this morning
Billy and Joe Smith, 32, were found hanging side by side in a wooded area near their homes in Sevenoaks, Kent, on December 28 last year
Extravagant floral tributes filled the front garden of Mrs Smith’s semi-detached house. In keeping with Valentine’s Day, dozens of Ferrero Rocher chocolates filled a heart of roses on the lawn outside.
A picture of the twins made up the letter ‘O’ in the word ‘Sons’.
Billy and Joe’s favourite songs were playing on a speaker while mourners gathered to admire the beautiful tributes.
Red heart balloons tied to the garden fence read ‘I love you’ and ‘We will always belong together’.
One note on the Jack Daniel’s floral tribute said: ‘To my pals Bill and Joe. Gone but never forgotten. Always in our thoughts.’
Another note on a similar Jose Cuervo Especial tequila bottle floral tribute read: ‘To my Joe and Billy. Thank you for the best memories and never leaving me. I’ll love you forever.’
One tribute said: ‘To Kent’s biggest two legends. I will miss you both very much. Until we meet again boys.’
A funeral cortege is pictured travelling through Sevenoaks in Kent led by a horse-drawn carriage
The elaborate white hearse is pictured with a framed photographs of the brothers looking out at mourners this morning
Mourners then began the walk to the church, which was led by a funeral cortege with white carriages and matching white horses.
There was also a pick-up truck covered in flowers sporting tributes to the men and vehicles draped in the St George’s flag.
Billy and Joe starred in the hit Channel 4 show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding in 2013.
A bitter row broke out over where they should be buried after Joey’s estranged wife Charmaine insisted he should be laid to rest in Essex where they married seven years ago and lived before their separation.
The Smiths’ grandmother Phoebe, 75, and the rest of the family argued they should be together in Sevenoaks, where they lived and grew up.
The funeral service is taking place at St John the Baptist Church in Sevenoaks this morning. A white funeral carriage pulled by two white horses is seen outside draped with the St George’s flag
They left a suicide note for their grandmother Phoebe Smith, 75, (pictured holding a picture of the three of them) who later revealed Joe had battled cancer and the pair both became depressed as they struggled to cope with his diagnosis