THE funeral of former ten mile record holder Mel Batty takes place at 2pm this Friday at Basildon Crematorium.
It is expected that stars from the world of athletics since the sixties will be present to a man who was seen as an athletics trailblazer both on and off the track.
The service will be followed by a reception at the Bell Hotel, in Horndon-on-the-Hill.
Mel Batty died last week after suffering a heart attack.
