HUNDREDS of mourners attending the funeral of Ryedale mother who died in a rally car accident were told that she had a love for them that could "never die".

It was standing room only at the moving ceremony in East Riding Crematorium, Octon, to celebrate the life of Chris Francis, a motor sport and rugby union enthusiast.

Rally car navigator Chris, 45, of Aldmoor Farm, Burythorpe, near Malton, was killed while taking part in the Kall Kwik National Rally in Dalby Forest, Pickering, when a Subaru Impreza driven by her brother, York Motor Club member Jeff McNeil, left the track and hit a tree.

Sally Jones, a parish reader at St Michael's Church, Malton, led the service, stressing: "We are not here to remember how Chris died, but how Chris lived.

"You know how much her family loved her and how much she loved life. I'm certainly not here to answer the question: why? I believe that one day we will know the answer and that is the hope by which I live.

"We must give thanks for the legacy she has left behind."

Chris, who leaves a widower, Ricky, and children, Jess, 16, and Tom, 11, regularly watched her son play rugby at Malton and Norton RUFC, and took part in rallying events across the country.

John Matchin, a member of the Malton and Norton RUFC, told the ceremony that Chris played a key role at the club, sponsoring matches and raising funds and was a "warm and outgoing person".

"You always knew where she was from the sound of her husky voice, even though you couldn't see her through the cloud of cigarette smoke," he said.

"A laugh and a joke, a fag and a Bacardi and coke - that is how we will remember her."

Graham Harper, a fellow member of Malton Motor Club, said: "She made the perfect advert for living life to the full."

Two of Chris's favourite songs, She's Like The Wind and the Meat Loaf classic Bat Out Of Hell, were played during the service and an ode written in her memory was also read out.

Mourners were invited back to Malton and Norton RUFC's clubhouse to toast her life.

Updated: 10:38 Tuesday, March 02, 2004