Funeral home at centre of probe is boarded up and hanging baskets torn down

14 March 2024 , 14:17

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The Anlaby Road branch in Hull was targeted after the police probe was launched (Image: HullLive/MEN)

‌A funeral home which is being investigated following concerns about its "storage and management processes" appears to have been vandalised.

Legacy Independent Funeral Directors, which has three venues that have been looked at by police, is thought to have been targeted after leaving multiple families distressed in the wake of the scandal. In pictures that have emerged online, its Anlaby Road branch in Hull can be seen boarded up, with its hanging baskets torn down and now on the floor.

It comes after the Beverley branch removed its branding from its storefront, which revealed the former signage of the unrelated, old Time & Motion shop, that closed in 2018. Heartbroken families and locals have since left floral tributes outside the Hessle Road branch as fears grow surrounding previously handled bodies.

Police first visited Legacy Independent Funeral Directors on March 6 (PA)

Humberside Police announced that between the morning of Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9, a total of 35 corpses were removed from the premises. The directors currently have two branches in Hull and one site in Beverley. The investigation began last Wednesday (March 6), when Humberside Police received a report expressing concern about the storage and management processes relating to the care of the deceased at the funeral directors.

A 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were later arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position. They have since been released on police bail.

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Flowers baskets were found on the floor alongside a boarded up door (HullLive/MEN)

On Tuesday, Deputy Chief Constable Dave Marshall of Humberside Police said: "I want to express my sincere and deepest sympathy to the families of those affected and anybody else affected by the reports relating to the Legacy Independent Funeral Directors based in Hull and East Riding. We are continuing to support the families involved through this extremely difficult and distressing time. It has been a truly horrific incident, and understandably, they are distraught and have many questions to be answered.

Funeral director Robert Bush employed his daughter Saskya to help with the business (legacyfuneraldirectors)

"I want to reassure them and the wider public that we are doing everything we can to give them that reassurance and the answers to the questions they desperately want. I also want to take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has called with information, as well as our teams who continue to work around the clock following the lines of enquiry that have been generated.

"This is an extremely complex and sensitive investigation with heartbroken families at the core of it. We are determined to ensure that we keep families at the centre of everything that we do."

Monica Charsley