Bonnie Tyler's body returns home for funeral

Iconic Welsh singer to be laid to rest on Monday

Bonnie Tyler fans lined the streets of a south Wales suburb Saturday to pay their respects as the late Welsh singer's coffin returned to her home there ahead of her funeral.

Best known for her powerful, haunting love song "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Tyler died in hospital in Portugal last month. She was 75.

She will be laid to rest Monday following her funeral in the nearby city of Swansea, which is set to be a celebration of her life attended by family and friends.

Thousands of people flocked onto the streets of Mumbles to watch the procession transporting her coffin back to her home, an AFP reporter saw.

The crowd burst into applause and a rendition of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" broke out as it made its way through the coastal village on Swansea's southwestern edge.

Some threw flowers onto the hearse carrying her coffin, which was draped in the Welsh flag and accompanied by a framed photograph of the singer.

Teenager Carys Edwards, 18, was among those to turn out with her mum, calling the Welsh legend "an inspiration to everybody".

"Her music touched a lot of people, especially me," she said. "I'm quite surprised how many people came here today, but then not as well, because she was such an icon.

"When we found out she passed away, it was such a heartbreak to all of us. We cried and everything."

Edwards's mum Melanie Smith, 53, added: "Most importantly, she was a Swansea girl, and she didn't forget that."

Tyler, whose real name was Gaynor Hopkins, was born and raised in a traditional coal mining village northwest of Swansea.

She achieved international fame with the release of her "Total Eclipse" mega-hit, which topped the charts in the US and Britain.