Firefighters carry coffin of dad-of-four Anthony Knott, 33, found dead in river after vanishing over Christmas
FIREFIGHTERS today carried the coffin of their colleague Anthony Knott - 20 days after his body was found in a river.
The 33-year-old vanished just before Christmas and was laid to rest in an emotional service this afternoon.
The dad-of-four was tragically discovered in the River Ouse after he disappeared on a Christmas pub crawl with colleagues on December 20.
Today a funeral procession left from directors Valentine and Turner in Orpington High Street, Kent.
His heartbroken fiancee Lucy Otto was supported by a pal as she walked behind the coffin, before it was placed on a vintage LFB fire engine.
A poignant floral arrangement, spelling out "daddy", was carried, and another in the colours of Anthony's football club, Orpington Athletic FC, was stood outside Saint Giles the Abbot Church.
One person held a bright green helmet, and the Hearse carrying his coffin was flanked by uniformed firefighters.
After his body was found on January 10, his family said his story had "touched the hearts of thousands of people" and thanked everyone who had helped in the search.
They added: "The people of Lewes, we will be forever grateful for your support and understanding during our searches.
"These three weeks have been so very hard for us all.
"We now want to take some time as a family to grieve and as I am sure everyone will understand, to respect our privacy for this time."
Orpington Athletic FC, who Anthony played for tweeted: "All about you today, Ant."
He was last seen at The Lamb pub on Fisher Street on Friday, December 20.
The dad had been pub-hopping with about 12 colleagues and lost touch with them around 7.30 pm.
His disappearance was described as "very out of character", with it still unclear what exactly happened.
A still from CCTV taken at 7.41pm - four minutes on from the new footage - captured the 33-year-old almost back at the pub he had left, but he never arrived.
He was seen mysteriously walking along Market Lane back towards The Lamb - around 20 minutes after cops also say his phone was switched off.
