Final farewell to The Doog

Mourners from across Britain gathered this afternoon for the funeral of Northern Ireland and Wolverhampton Wanderers soccer star Derek Dougan.

Fans came out in force ahead of the funeral.

Some were queueing from 10.30am by St Peter's Collegiate Church in Wolverhampton to pay their last respects.

Hundreds gathered outside the church dressed in Wolves shirts and created a sea of gold and black while they chatted about their memories of the great man.

Dougan, known as The Doog, scored 123 goals in 323 games for Wolves and won 43 caps for Northern Ireland. He died of a heart attack at his Wolverhampton home last month, aged 69.

One of the fans at today's service, Dave Watkiss, 58, of Penn, said: "I've always been a great fan. Derek Dougan was one of the best players Wolves has ever had.

"I remember going down to the Molineux back in around 1974 and asking for an autograph and he was really kind and friendly to me."

The forward, who served as chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association in the 1970s, also play- ed for Leicester City, Ports- mouth, Blackburn, Aston Villa and Peterborough.

But it was with Wolves, his sixth English club, that he really found his home after joining them in 1967.