TO some, Sheila Karsberg was the enigmatic, eccentric figure who carried a toy meerkat with her at all times and could be found walking the streets of Camden Town and Highgate.

Others recognised her as the kindly animal-lover who held court from a park bench in Parliament Hill Fields, accompanied by her beloved dog, Millie Snowflake.

But for all those touched by Ms Karsberg’s death in a horrific road collision in Camden Town last month, remarkably little is known about her life. Ms Karsberg had lived alone on the Holly Lodge Estate, Highgate, for the past two decades and, friends have realised, she kept only limited contact with her extended family.

As she was buried on Thursday, following a woodland ­funeral service in Hertfordshire ­interwoven with references to the natural world she adored, it became apparent that a ­distant relative had been found only through the sheer persistence of those tasked with tracking down Ms ­Karsberg’s next of kin. A name in a phone book led to the son of an elderly cousin, who had himself passed away. Alan Karsberg, who took it upon himself to organise the funeral service, said on Thursday that he had not heard of Sheila a month ago, and knew very little about her before hearing moving tributes read during the service.

Anne Holve, who had known Ms Karsberg for the past 16 years, said in a tribute read during the service: “Her sudden and shocking death in a road accident one morning in Camden was deeply upsetting to all of us who knew her. She was known with affection by lots of people on the estate and around the local area as she went out daily on her walks and made contact with many people, or they just got used to her walking around so regularly with her dog. I still cannot believe she has died and I feel her loss deeply, as many other people do too.”