Video: Hearse lead by pedigree Afghan Hounds at dog-lover's funeral

Trevor Howard died last month at the age of 69 following a battle with lung and bone cancer, and having picked up a love for Afghan Hounds from his wife Trish - who herself owned three Afghans when the couple met in 1989 - the couple's four pedigree dogs walked ahead of Trevor's hearse at the funeral at Burnley Crematorium on March 29th.

The dogs - Crufts winner, Asianskies Claret N'Blu; Storm, who was imported from Australia; Armani, Blu's brother; and Spice - walked alongside Walter Prest, Paula Kenny, Jane Edwards, and Gilly Vickers before the ceremony, with Trish explaining that while the couple never had any children together, the dogs were their pride and joy.

"Trevor was working in Bristol and that's how we met; I moved up within five months of meeting him," explained Trish (66) "It was through me that he got a love of Afghan Hounds, because I had them and I said, 'love me, love my dogs'.

"Trevor and I didn't have any children: our children were the dogs," she added. "When he was in Airedale [General Hospital] he said, 'I want to be at home when I die with my girls around me.'"

Nicknamed Jason King because of his resemblance to Peter Wyngarde with his curly hair and moustache, Trevor was "such a generous person," according to his sister, Catrina Higson, who added: "He was a good listener, and a practical joker: he loved to play practical jokes on people; well, he did on me when I was a kid.

"He's going to be missed by a lot of people," she added.