THE boyfriend of murdered prostitute Jacqueline Gallagher broke down at her funeral yesterday as she was finally laid to rest at a quiet Paisley cemetery.

As the mourners turned to leave the young woman's graveside, Mr Gordon Fraser fell to his knees and wept uncontrollably over her coffin.

He had to be helped away by Ms Gallagher's stepfather, who himself struggled to remain composed.

The 26-year-old's battered body was found almost four months ago dumped in a layby off the A814 near Bowling, Dunbartonshire.

Despite an intense police investigation into the brutal murder, the killer remains at large.

Almost 70 mourners attended the moving service in the town's Oakshaw Trinity Church before the burial at nearby Hawkhead Cemetery.

In his sermon, the Rev Ian Currie spoke of the ``shock, suddenness, and the brutality'' of her death as he asked the mourners not to make ``moral judgments'' about her lifestyle.

``In a way, this is a crime which makes victims of us all,'' he said. ``It puts those who worked beside Jacqui in fear, it reminds the rest of us just how uncaring our society can be when it places women in situations where this kind of hideous murder can take place.

``Jacqueline was generous and likeable, much loved by her family and friends. A young woman who enjoyed music, who was pretty and small and vulnerable. A young woman who found herself a victim of drugs and, at the end,this woman, young, pretty, small, and vulnerable, was the victim of a brutal murder.''

Ms Gallagher's mother Mrs Alice Wilson, and stepfather Mr Robert Wilson, remained composed for much of the service but as their daughter's coffin was carried slowly out of the church by four pall bearers, it became too much.

The couple and their other two children, Sharlotte and Joe, broke down in tears as Mrs Wilson cried her daughter's name over and over again.

During the service, Mr Currie also spoke of the drugs culture which had taken such a firm grip of the young woman's life. A heroin addict, Ms Gallagher, of Glenallen Way, Paisley, had worked the streets of Glasgow as a prostitute to feed her habit.

``We seem to tolerate attitudes and habits which have no place in a decent society, and that makes victims of us all,'' added Mr Currie.

He also made an emotional appeal for anyone with information about a black BMW which was seen near the layby on the night of the murder, and of a distinctive home-made curtain which was wrapped round Ms Gallagher's body.

Detective Chief Inspector Jeanette Joyce who is heading the investigation also attended the funeral.

Later, she stressed that Ms Gallagher's burial did not mark the end of the inquiry.

``This young girl has got to be laid to rest to ease some of the suffering of her family. We will find whoever killed Jacqueline but we still need more help from the public.''