HUNDREDS of people, some wearing country and western gear, said goodbye to popular Cwmbran boy and Britain’s Got Talent star Ryan Howell today.

Ryan, from Fairwater, was just 18 when he died of rare bone cancer Ewing Sarcoma last week but had already achieved an incredible amount, even reaching the finals of the national TV talent show in 2012 when he sang as a baritone with the choir Only Boys Aloud.

Reverent Michael Phillips led a moving service at Gwent Crematorium near Cwmbran today, telling the packed hall: “Ryan showed incredible determination and bravery in his firm resolve to fight his terrible illness. He said many times, ‘I’m going to fight this; I am going to beat it.’

“He enriched so many lives and uplifted all he met. The world is a better place for having known him. We give thanks to god for his living example of how to live, and indeed how to die. He will never be forgotten.”

Born in Cardiff, Ryan went on to study at Penygarn School and West Monmouth School in Pontypool and had enrolled on a mechanics course at Cross Keys for this year.

But singing was his calling, and he had performed across the country at venues including Wembley Stadium and the Millennium Stadium.

He was a guitarist and loved music ranging from Johnny Cash to traditional Welsh hymns and learned songs for the choir so quickly he might just have absorbed them, Revd Phillips said. “

In short Ryan had a promising future ahead of him in this field - he was a natural.”

Revd Phillips said: “Perhaps Ryan excelled in drama, music and dance and all this because they reflected his inner nature. He loved to lift people up in their spirit. He would hate people to be upset. He loved to make others laugh and smile. He was always seeking to help others and raise money for charity. He often danced with his mum and of course there was line dancing and all the rest.”

As well as being the soul of the party he was also “kind, caring and hugely loving” and could also be a great listener to those who had problems - a rare gift in someone so young, Revd Phillips said. “Often even people much older than he would pour out their feelings or problems to him and listen carefully to any advice he gave. He just had that knack of being able to put people at their ease and be there for them.

“Ryan invariably put everyone else first and himself last, even though he had the illness that he had. At the other end of the scale, he enjoyed winding people up – but all who experienced that enjoyed him doing it. With that incredible smile of his, he could get away with anything.”

The congregation filed out to country song ‘Red Solo Cup’, an ode to the plastic cups favoured at American barbecues, festivals and frat houses. Toby Keith sang: “Red solo cup I fill you up/Let's have a party.”

“That’s just like Ryan,” one guest said as the song came on.