TEARS and tributes flowed at a Paisley church yesterday as hundreds of mourners said their final farewell to tragic teenager Steven Smith.

The young football fan's life was cut short in the early hours of Boxing Day last year when he died following an altercation with security staff as he tried to enter Fury's nightclub in Paisley town centre.

For five long months, his loved ones were unable to lay him to rest as a police investigation into the incident took place.

However, the family of 18-year-old Steven - who was known as "Smiddy" to his friends - were finally given the go-ahead to stage his funeral.

And a huge crowd of around 500 mourners packed into Wallneuk North Church yesterday to make sure he was given a fitting send-off.

The funeral service was led by the Reverend David Kay, who knew Steven from his days as a member of the Boys' Brigade, and he spoke of the heartache being felt by loved ones following his tragic death.

Mr McKay told mourners: "Steven was a gifted footballer and a big Rangers fan. He also showed great promise in life itself. He had passed a variety of technical courses, which gave rise to the potential of a future in the construction industry.

"But all that potential, all that Steven could have been, was cruelly snuffed out when he was taken from us.

"It has left us with so many questions that we can't find answers for. There are no easy answers.

"I cannot offer an explanation for why. Even if I could, it will still not take away the pain. It will still not fill the gap left because Steven is not there anymore."

Christmas joy had turned to unimaginable grief for Steven's family and friends last year when tragedy struck outside Fury's disco, in Shuttle Street.

At the time of the tragedy, detectives said the death was being treated as suspicious and appealed for witnesses to contact them.

Initially, it was unclear if Steven, from Gallowhill, Paisley, was pushed or simply fell to the ground and banged his head.

A post-mortem examination failed to reveal how he died.

Officers interviewed a number of witnesses and studied CCTV footage taken in the Shuttle Street area at around the time of his death.

And, over the past five months, detectives and medical experts have continued the investigation.

Five bouncers - one of them a woman - from Fury's have been interviewed by detectives several times.

The investigation into the death is now in the hands of the Crown Office in Edinburgh and a decision on whether or not the case should go to court is expected to be made soon.

Yesterday, it was standing room only at Wallneuk North Church as relatives, friends and neighbours gathered to mourn Steven.

Among the grief-stricken mourners were his devastated parents Billy and Kate and his girlfriend Lisa.

As Steven's body was taken from the church for its final journey to Hawkhead Cemetery, the soaring lyrics of Tina Turner hit Simply The Best rang out in tribute to the fun-loving Rangers fan.

Floral tributes also carried the words of the well-known Ibrox anthem.

But, instead of the cheers which usually accompany the song on matchdays at Ibrox, only anguish-filled sobs could be heard.

Meanwhile, Fury's was closed last night as bosses decided not to open for business as a mark of respect for Steven.

A spokeswoman for the nightclub said: "Our thoughts and wishes are with Steven's family and friends, especially during this particularly difficult time.

"We continue to work closely with the police, as we've been doing over the last few months, to establish exactly what happened on the night Steven died."

A recent statement from the Crown Office confirmed that the Procurator Fiscal at Paisley has received a report into the circumstances of Steven's death and that the investigation was continuing.

Steven's death was not the first tragedy to hit the Smith family in recent years.

In December 2006, his older brother Darren, who was 20 at the time, died after a stabbing incident at a house in Gallowhill.

Later, at the High Court in Paisley, 26-year-old Christopher Horrell admitted a charge of culpable homicide in connection with Darren's death.