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Professor Stephen Hawking arranged for 50 homeless people to enjoy a three-course Easter meal in Cambridge on the day of his funeral.

The world-famous physicist’s parting gift was handed out at a church on the day of his funeral as a touching note told the guests the three-course meal was a “gift from Stephen”.

Organisers of the meal said guests cheered and raised a glass in honour of the globally-renowned cosmologist before tucking in to their food at the Wesley Methodist Church on Saturday.

It came as hundreds of mourners, led by actor Eddie Redmayne, gathered in the city to celebrate professor Hawking’s life at his funeral on the same day.

The scientist’s daughter Lucy Hawking contacted the charity, Food Cycle Cambridge, to tell them the family planned to make a donation so that people would be sitting down for a "hot meal on Stephen" while the funeral took place, the charity said.

A Food Cycle spokeswoman said the donation would in fact go towards far more meals than the 50 provided on the day, but she would not disclose how much cash was donated.

FoodCycle Cambridge said in statement: “We're really honoured to have been involved, and touched that Professor Hawking's family thought of FoodCycle.

“Our volunteers do an absolutely amazing job 52 weeks of the year, supporting their local community - and not just in Cambridge, but across the UK.

“The guests on Saturday were so surprised and touched by the family's gesture and raised a glass to Stephen before tucking into lunch.”

Redmayne, who played the role of Professor Stephen Hawking in the 2014 biographical drama The Theory of Everything, was among 500 guests invited to the University Church of St Mary the Great in Cambridge.

He gave a biblical reading at the service, and Astronomer Royal Martin Rees also spoke.

Hundreds of people had lined the streets ahead of the service and a round of applause broke out as six porters from the physicist's former college, Gonville and Caius, carried Professor Hawking’s coffin from the hearse into the church.