Chamber of horrors funeral director who stockpiled bodies and gave bereaved families wrong ashes jailed for 20 years

By GLEN KEOGH, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 13:22, 31 July 2026 | Updated: 13:29, 31 July 2026 An evil undertaker who stockpiled bodies at his funeral parlour and gave grieving families the wrong ashes has been jailed for 20 years.  Robert Bush, 47, told mourners he had cremated or buried their relatives when they were actually in his 'dirty' premises and also kept half a ton of ashes in his Hull funeral home, which was likened by a casual staff member who eventually raised the alarm, to a 'horror scene.' Coffins were reused and families mourned loved ones at funerals not knowing that a stranger's body lay in the casket. The funeral director eventually pleaded guilty to 67 offences related to preventing the lawful and decent burial of 30 bodies and defrauding grieving families at his Legacy Independent Funeral Directors business in Hull. Hull Crown Court heard that Bush breached the trust of families on an 'almost industrial scale', spent money intended for funerals on himself and even stole from charity collection boxes at services. Sentencing Bush today, the judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, said: 'If the police had not intervened, the practice would have continued. 'The affront to public dignity, which these offences represent, means that there must be significant additional punishment. 'Culpability is, of course, high because of the gross breach of trust in respect of people who were vulnerable, because they were bereaved and dependent upon the defendant. 'They had gone to him for assistance to do right by the deceased.' He added: 'I’m satisfied that in order to maximise his dishonest profit, the defendant paid as little attention as he thought he could get away with when dealing with those who were entrusted to him. 'He saw, for example, no need to pay for adequate refrigeration. 'He spent other people’s money on improvements to his own home, whilst the Hessle Road premises were in a deplorable state. 'There was obviously a cost to carrying out a cremation, but he would only pay that when it suited him to do so, or when personal expenditure permitted. 'He was in Arizona on holiday when these offences were discovered. 'He must have chosen not to spend the cost of his holiday on cremating some of those who were at Legacy.'  This is a breaking news story. More to follow.