Tufnell: Lawrence a ‘great friend’published at 14:01 British Summer Time
14:01 BST
Phil Tufnell, Lawrence’s friend and former England team-mate, is one of the members of the congregation today.
Speaking to the BBC outside St Mary Redcliffe church, an emotional Tufnell said his “great friend” was “someone who you wanted on your side”.
” [He was a ] larger than life character. Filled the room when he came in. We had some great laughs along the way,” the former spin bowler added.
“He had this great big deep voice. He’d always say hello to everyone. It’s sad that he had to go.”
Looking back at their time together, Mr Tufnell recalled Lawrence’s serious knee injury, which he suffered while playing for England in New Zealand in 1992.
“I was playing in that Test match when he fractured his kneecap, and carried him off the field. It was a tough injury. He tried to fight his way back from it but I think it was impossible really,” he said.
“[But] he didn’t let that get him down and he moved forward with a very positive attitude.”