THE funeral of murdered landscape architect Joanna Yeates is due to take place this Friday.

Miss Yeates, whose body was discovered in Failand on Christmas morning eight days after she disappeared, will be buried in the churchyard of her home village.

About 100 relatives and friends are expected to attend a service at St Mark's in Ampfield, Hampshire, which is known as 'the church in the woods'.

The 25-year-old's parents, David and Theresa, have said it is bound to be the worst day of their lives, but they are more fortunate than some families, such as the family of Madeleine McCann, whose relatives disappear and can never be given a funeral.

Miss Yeates went missing after apparently returning home to the flat she shared with boyfriend Greg Reardon, at 44 Canynge Road, Clifton, on December 17.

Her immediate neighbour, Dutchman Vincent Tabak, is charged with her murder some time between December 16 and December 26.

The Dutch engineer, who worked in Bath, is on remand in custody until a plea and case management hearing at Bristol Crown Court on May 4.