Farewell to Ozzy: fans say goodbye to Birmingham's favourite son

Thousands of fans lined the streets of Birmingham to watch Ozzy Osbourne make his final journey through his home city, with his tearful family laying tributes as crowds chanted the late singer's name.

- Jessica Murray Yassin El-Moudden

A hearse carrying Osbourne, who died last week aged 76, made its way through the city centre yesterday on the way to his private funeral.

The procession stopped on "Black Sabbath bridge", where his family members placed roses among the hundreds of tributes left for the heavy metal pioneer in front of the bench depicting the band.

A visibly emotional Sharon, who was married to Osbourne for 43 years, was aided by her children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack, as she tearfully took in the sea of tributes, and signalled a peace sign to the crowd before leaving. They were joined by a number of family members, including some of Osbourne's grandchildren.

People could be seen leaning out of windows and climbing on top of walls and bus stops to catch a glimpse of the funeral cortege.