Funeral director admits decades of deception
British funeral director Robert Bush is facing a possible prison sentence after a scandal in which 31 bodies were left uncremated at his funeral parlour while grieving relatives were handed other people’s ashes. The 48-year-old has pleaded guilty to 67 offences spanning 12 years, affecting hundreds of victims.
Horror scene discovered at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors
Prosecutor Chris Paxton told Hull Crown Court on July 27 that a former employee described Bush’s funeral parlour as “something from a horror scene.” Police who searched the premises after a tip-off in March 2024 found 31 bodies in a cold storage area that should have been cremated months earlier. Among them was a stillborn baby that had been there for almost two years.
“There were bodies stored on the racks on both sides of the room,” Paxton said. “The vast majority were uncovered and in varying states of decomposition.” Investigators also discovered more than 100 sets of ashes, some of which were handed to families as the remains of their loved ones.
Victim describes distress over stillborn son
Jasmine Beverley, whose son Sunny was stillborn in May 2022, said Bush appeared “lovely” and presented himself as “very respectful.” She told BBC radio that it was a shock to learn what had been going on behind closed doors. Sunny’s remains were found in a brown envelope on the floor, even though she believed he had been cremated.
“I discovered that he was still in there almost two years after we’d had the funeral,” she said, describing the discovery as “distressing.” Beverley and her husband, along with other families, are campaigning for tighter regulation of funeral parlours.
Prosecutor details scale of mistreatment
Bush, who ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, was trusted by bereaved families but mistreated them on an “almost industrial scale,” Paxton said. The charges include preventing lawful and decent burial, theft, and fraud. Four of the fraud charges involved falsely presenting ashes to women as the remains of their unborn children.
The five-day sentencing hearing is set to hear statements from over 100 victims. Bush has admitted all charges and now awaits the court’s decision.
