Hundreds of people gathered today at the funeral of Richard Mills, a photographer on The Times, who died towards the end of his last assignment in Zimbabwe.

Mr Mills, 41, who joined The Times in 2000 and had covered many dangerous assignments for the paper including in Iraq and Afghanistan, was found dead in the safe house in which he was staying in Harare.

Family, friends and colleagues attended the funeral at Roselawn Crematorium in Belfast, including Zoe, his widow and Finn, his five-year-old son.

Anthony Loyd, war correspondent for The Times, who had covered stories with Mr Mills in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in a eulogy: ”It was never just a job to Richard. It was about feeling. In some way or another, he felt for everyone in every frame of every photo he ever shot.”

James Harding, the Editor of The Times, told the staff at the newspaper: “Richard was an outstanding photographer. He reported for The Times from some of the most troubled places in the world. His work captured, with great humanity, the plight of people trying to live ordinary lives whilst caught up in extraordinary situations.

”He had an unerring eye and a rare combination of courage and compassion. He was respected and loved by his colleagues. The Times has lost a great friend, a gifted photographer and a brave journalist.”

The Mills family said tonight: “We were greatly heartened by the widespread display of condolence and sympathy from far and wide and would like to thank everyone who came to offer their support and to share our grief.”

A post-mortem was carried out in Harare and the pathologist decided the cause of death was suicide. Catherine Philp, The Times’ Diplomatic Correspondent who was covering the story in Zimbabwe with Mr Mills, discovered his body and, as well as officials from the British Embassy in Harare, confirmed the decision. There was no evidence of foul play.

A statement issued later by the family backed the pathologist's findings.

They said: "Having had the chance to examine in detail the circumstances surrounding Richard's death we are now reconciled to the fact that he did indeed take his own life. We acknowledge that the amount of suffering and extreme hardship he witnessed at first hand in many harrowing situations throughout the world proved too much for him to bear.

"We would respectfully ask the media to stop further speculation and let the family mourn our loss and grieve in peace."

Mr Mills had been in Harare undercover because of the risks faced by foreign journalists who had been assigned to write about the rerun of the presidential elections in Zimbabwe.

He joined The Times after serving in the RAF. In 2003 he was awarded the News Photographer of the Year by the BBC’s What The Papers Say.

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