Hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their respects at the funeral of darts legend Eric Bristow MBE.

The 60-year-old, known as The Crafty Cockney, was the five times world champion.

He suffered a heart attack while he was watching the PDC Premier League event at Liverpool's Echo Arena on April 5.

Fans at the Echo Arena burst into a rendition of "There's only one Eric Bristow" after being told he had died.

Read more: Eric Bristow – some of his choice quotes

He was called a "tremendous player and a huge character" who was "honest and straightforward".

A 45-minute service was held at Carmountside Cemetery & Crematorium in Stoke-on-Trent on Tuesday at 3.30pm.

Refreshments followed at The Rewind Bar in Leek, Staffs.

Fans were encouraged to wear darts shirts, football shirts or to dress “as you feel most comfortable” to celebrate the legend’s life.

The black Rolls Royce hearse bearing the coffin of Eric entered Carmountside Cemetery and Crematorium in front of a convoy of cars.

Read more: Eric Bristow – some of his choice quotes

The wooden coffin had a Union Jack draped over the top with a dartboard placed on top with three darts in what appeared to be a ‘180’ score.

A wreath of flowers shaped in the word ‘Dad’ lay at the rear of the coffin and a trophy was carried in the front seat of the vehicle.

His funeral notice described him as “a devoted dad to Louise and James, much-missed grandad and cherished partner to Bex”.

Donations from the service were given to animal rescue charity Iris's Cats in Need, where Eric Bristow once adopted a cat.

Charity volunteer Claire Jones said: “We are extremely grateful for Eric's family to think of us at this time and we send our condolences to them.

“It is always lovely for people to think of us and Eric was a generous man.

“Their generosity will help so many cats - we help hundreds each year and are constantly full looking after around 23 cats at a time.”

PDC chairman Barry Hearn, who worked closely with Bristow throughout the last 20 years, said previously: “Eric will always be a legend in the world of darts and British sport.

Read more: Eric Bristow – some of his choice quotes

"He was a tremendous player and a huge character and even after his retirement fans would travel for miles to meet him and see him play.

“Eric was never afraid of controversy, but he spoke as he found and was honest and straightforward which is what people admired about him.

"The PDC, and the sport of darts, will miss him.”

He starred on ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2012 and worked as a pundit for Sky Sports.

Eric leaves behind two children, Louise and James Bristow, who he shared with his former wife Jane.

The couple had been married for 16 years.

Eric's most recent partner was Becky Gadd, who he met in 2011.

Born in East London in 1957, Bristow quickly made a name for himself as a player and mentor.

Bristow was the sport’s first superstar player, winning the world championship five times between 1980 and 1986.

He was ultimately awarded an MBE for his services to sport in 1989.

Bristow was one of the founder players when the PDC (then World Darts Council) was formed in 1993 as the sport's leading stars broke away from the British Darts Organisation.

The London-born player, who struggled for form after battling ‘dartitis’ in the latter years of his career, mentored and sponsored Phil Taylor, who went on to win a record 16 world titles.

Read more: Eric Bristow – some of his choice quotes

Following his death, Phil Taylor tweeted: “Words cannot express how sad and shocked I am to hear the terrible news about Eric’s passing.

“A huge influence on my career and a larger than life character – the world has lost a legend. RIP pal.”

He later added: “He made me in to a winner. He put his money behind me and you had to give him 100 per cent.”