Moving memorial service held for Jay Slater as community vows 'we will remember him'

The skies were filled with blue balloons as the community came together to pay their respects to Jay Slater.

A memorial service was held at West End Methodist Church in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, the day Spanish police confirmed a body found in Tenerife had been identified as Jay. The 19-year-old had flown to the Canary Islands with friends for the three-day NRG music festival.

Jay was reported missing on June 17 after staying out the night before when his friends Lucy and Brad returned to their apartment. An extensive search was launched but it was four weeks before his body was found close to the village of Masca.

READ MORE: In pictures: Jay Slater's tragic final journey before he vanished in the mountains of Tenerife

The service, held just round the corner from Jay's home, was packed with similarly-aged youngsters who struggled to hold in the tears as a photo of the 19-year-old looked down from screens inside the church. Several people who attended did not know Jay but had simply gone along to show their respects.

Charmaine Tomlinson, from Accrington, said she had followed Jay's disappearance since he was first reported missing on June 17. The apprentice bricklayer had travelled to Tenerife with friends in order to attend the three-day NRG music festival.

"I didn't know him, or his family, but I just wanted to come and show my support," Charmaine said. "I hoped that maybe he was just sheltering somewhere but sadly the ending wasn't what we hoped for."

During the service, Minister Smith said: "We come together to support each other. Weeks ago I shared a passage with you, 'a light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it'.

"Today it might feel that the darkness has overcome us but today we