Hundreds turn out for funeral of popular Waitrose delivery driver Sam Langton

The life of Simon Langton, known to loved ones as Sam, was celebrated during a special service at Bournemouth Crematorium.

His coffin arrived followed by a number of scooter riders and his Waitrose van, which had been decorated with ribbons.

Sam died suddenly at his home on January 10, from an aortic aneurysm, with his wife, Marlene, 59, at his side.

He had worked at Waitrose for 11 years at several different branches in Dorset, with the Winton store hosting two books of condolence for Sam’s colleagues and the firm’s customers to sign.

Waitrose gave all their staff time off to to attend the funeral, with many arriving at the crematorium by coach.

Staff were drafted in from other branches by the Waitrose head office to cover for all Sam’s colleagues attending the funeral.

Sam’s funeral was led by celebrant, Rob Hazell, who said that he was ‘overwhelmed’ by the number of people who had come along to the service.

“Among his friends, family and work colleagues and so many people here, with the entrance that was made with the Waitrose van and all the scooters, I have never seen it happen before, so clearly Sam really made his mark.”

Many people had to stand around the front of the crematorium, in the aisle, at the back and outside just to pay their respects and staff from Bournemouth Council were directing vehicles coming in due to the sheer volume of people.

Among the speakers at the event were Sam’s son, Mark, who spoke about his memories of his dad on behalf of himself and his brothers, Martin and Sam.

English Rose by The Jam, Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and The Wailers and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from Monty Python were just a few of the songs played during the service.

His wife, Marlene, had previously spoken to Daily Echo to describe her husband as somebody who had an abrupt and cheeky sense of humour, who had been called an inspiration by some of his colleagues.