Hundreds of mourners may have been given the wrong ashes from a funeral parlour raided by police over a ‘concern for the care of the deceased’.
Relatives who hired Legacy Independent Funeral Directors have been kept in the dark about details of the growing investigation that has involved the removal of 34 bodies.
More than 350 calls have been made to the hotline set up for grieving families and a number of relatives have expressed concerns that the ashes they were given following cremation could have been from a different body.
At least one person is said to have made an item of jewellery using the ashes of a loved one and is now questioning the validity of the remains.
One man told the Mirror: ‘All families that ever had any dealings with this company are worried.’
Police have been patrolling outside the Beckside branch of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull as well as two other outlets elsewhere in Humberside
The company’s boss Robert Bush, who heads up a family business, and his employee daughter Saskya Bush are pictured
Police conducted a raid and removed 34 bodies after concerns were raised about the conduct of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull
A grieving daughter has said she ‘feels sick’ at the thought of having been given ashes not belong to her father.
‘I just cannot believe it,’ she added as her brother said: ‘My dad’s funeral was ten years ago. We had the service at Hessle Road and now we are wondering if he actually got cremated.
‘I got some ashes but with what has gone on I am not sure they were his.’
Another devastated relative, Emma Osborne, said that she had been informed that her stepfather Danny Middleton may be one of the 34 bodies, despite relatives being supposedly given his ashes a month ago.
The funeral service took place in the Legacy branch and she said his body ‘has just been found in the morgue’.
Ms Osborne told the Telegraph: ‘As far as we know he has got his ID band on him, that’s all we know, he has not been identified properly.
‘They [the funeral directors] have given my step-brother ashes a month ago, they have given him ashes saying that it was my step-dad. I think there might be a number of other people that have been in the same [position][, that’s all I can say.’
A third woman, who asked not to be named, said she was suffering from ‘panic attacks’, ‘depression’ and was ‘not coping’ out of worry about how her partner’s body and remains were dealt with and whether the ashes in a glass bottle in her home were really from him.
She said her partner, who was in his mid-60s, was suffering from pneumonia and cancer when he died in December 2021.
She saw his body when it was at the Hessle branch of Hull-based Legacy but was concerned about marks on his face and neck.
A cremation took place in early January but she said ‘it took them ages for the ashes to be given to me’. She added: ‘I have still got some of the ashes in a glass bottle and my daughter has got some, but my big worry is that it could be the wrong ashes.’
Police have said nothing to suggest there is evidence she received the wrong ashes, but she said ‘there is so much speculation on social media that you just don’t know what to think’.
The firm is run by owner Robert Bush, a married father-of-two and motorbike racing fanatic, and his daughter Saskya, an engineering graduate.
Robert Bush (pictured) is the company boss of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors
Saskya Bush is employed by her father Robert Bush, who is the company owner
Residents reported seeing police at the Hessle Road branch in the early hours last Thursday
Sources told the Mirror that the parlour was targeted by police following an undercover sting.
Another woman posted on social media about her father whose body was dealt with by Legacy.
She said since the police investigation was announced the family have opened up their container to check what was inside and confirmed ‘they look like ashes.’
However, she claimed ‘my dad wasn’t in the coffin we paid for’ and the family are also questioning whether they received the correct remains.
Another woman posted that she believes her mother’s urn may not contain her real ashes and that she was ‘thinking about opening it to see if anything is in it’.
One grieving daughter, Leila Parker-Poland, recalled how she went to the Legacy building and was initially told her mother’s ashes couldn’t be found.
Ms Parker-Poland said they were brought to her house that night and she even joked about it ‘not being her ashes’.
Legacy also dealt with her father’s earlier death, and she said that his body was left in a non-refrigerated room for two weeks. She added that she now has ‘so many questions in my head’.
Officers have been stationed outside the Hessle Road branch of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors
Humberside Police are investigating the funeral directors after receiving a report expressing ‘concern about the storage and management processes relating to care of the deceased’
She said she knew of another woman with ‘a box of ashes from Legacy’ who phoned the crematorium and was told ‘no one of that name was cremated’ on the dates given.
‘So she is sat with ashes that were not her dad’s,’ speculated Ms Parker-Poland.
Many of the families, who have asked not to be named, said they were suspicious that their services were held at the Hessle Road parlour, not at the crematorium.
The bills from Legacy included the price of the coffin, which was supposed to have been destroyed along with the remains, at the crematorium and cremation fees.
During the service they were shown an unopened casket and told their loved one was inside. They were also informed the remains would be taken to the crematorium at a later date.
Some later received ashes but have complained they often had to pester Mr Bush for them.
Now many are suspicious if the coffin they were shown contained any body at all and whether the supposed cremations ever actually took place.
They are now desperately waiting for news from Humberside Police about whether their relatives bodies are among those which have been found.
This comes after Humberside Police said officers have removed 34 bodies from the firm’s premises on Hessle Road, Hull, and taken them to a mortuary for ‘formal identification procedures to take place’.
Legacy’s finances are also under scrutiny, with accounts overdue and the firm receiving its fifth ‘compulsory strike off’ warning in two years. But it was trading normally before police swooped on its three branches last Thursday.
A 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position.
Assistant Chief Constable Thom McLoughlin said in a statement: ‘Since the report on Wednesday March 6, cordons remain in place at all three Legacy Independent Funeral Directors premises. The dedicated phone line remains open and has received over 350 calls from concerned members of the public since Friday.
‘We continue to encourage anyone who has used Legacy Independent Funeral Directors and has concerns to call us on 0800 051 4674 or 0207 126 7619 if you are calling from abroad.
‘Each call we receive is being carefully handled and delicately assessed by a specialist team to ensure we have a thorough understanding of each family’s circumstances.
‘We will get back to each and every one of you as soon as we can. Please be reassured that my staff and officers are working around the clock to deal with the unprecedented inquiries generated as a result of this incident.’