Tipton twin Doris to visit Asda one final time with funeral cortège

Doris died in January after testing positive for coronavirus and her funeral will take place on Monday.

Doris and her identical twin sister Lilian Cox became celebrities in their own right – after stealing the hearts of the nation as Britain’s oldest identical twins.

Doris’s funeral is due to take place in the Tipton area on Monday afternoon – but due to coronavirus restrictions, only limited numbers can attend.

Doris will be laid to rest with her husband Ray, who she lost 11 years ago after 65 years of marriage.

Due to the restrictions, the family has chosen a longer route for the funeral cortège so people can pay their respects to Doris – and it will even visit her beloved Asda in Great Bridge.

Granddaughter Kerry Clarke said: “A lot of people have been asking what they can do in memory of Doris, whether it be light a candle or play a song at the same time.

"What we are doing is to have a longer route to the church and people can stand on the street to see her off, as we can’t have hundreds attend her funeral.”

The cortège will travel along Salter Road at around 1.15pm before heading down Upper Church Lane, High Street, Bloomfield Road, reaching Brook Street Community Centre at around 1.20pm.

It will then travel down Hurst Lane, Sedgley Road West, Owen Street, Alexandra Road, Locarno Road, Powis Avenue, Walker Street, Cotterrils Road, Walker Street, Bridge Road, Horsley Road, New Road, Market Place, Great Bridge High Street and Great Bridge Street.

It will then visit Asda Great Bridge at 1.30pm – where the twins were loyal customers for more than 20 years. The cortège will then head down New Road and Toll End Road, before passing the Kings Arms pub – where the twins used to visit – at around 1.35pm on their way to the church.

A fundraising page for the Beacon Centre for the Blind, a charity close to Doris’s heart, has raised nearly £6,000 in her memory.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/dorishobday.