19 Aug 2011

Funerals held for UK riot crash victims

11:56 am on 19 August 2011

Some 20,000 mourners have attended a memorial service for three men killed during rioting and looting in England.

The men were hit by a car as they tried to protect shops and homes from looters in Birmingham on 10 August.

Prayers took place at an open-air service in a Birmingham park.

Some mourners gathered by the vehicles in the park as the remaining crowds stood silently behind nearby barriers.

One speaker said the trio had been protecting property for Muslims, non-Muslims, black and white, the ABC reports.

Another man said they were an example of how people should live their lives in the service of others and dispelled the view that young people were interested only in themselves.

Four people have been charged with the men's murders.