Bush hoarded bodies for months and gave bereaved families the wrong ashes (Handout/PA) (PA Media) Grieving families have blasted the 20-year prison sentence handed to disgraced funeral director Robert Bush, branding it "atrocious" after a court heard he betrayed bereaved relatives on an astonishing scale. As victims struggled to come to terms with the horror, the Government announced it would finally regulate the funeral sector in response to the scandal. Bush, 48, was jailed for 20 years after admitting 67 offences linked to his Legacy Independent Funeral Directors business in Hull. For 12 years, he hoarded bodies for months, handed grieving families the wrong ashes, sold fake funeral plans and stole donations collected for charities during funeral services. Many relatives packed the public gallery to hear the sentence but left believing justice had fallen short. Joanne Moody, whose father Peter Moody was among 31 bodies discovered at Legacy, said the punishment was "a joke" and claimed Bush could be free in just 10 years. "There’s no justice for any of us," she said. "We’re not going to get closure." Michaela Baldwin, whose stepfather Danny Middleton's body was also found at the premises, said Bush deserved "at least 30 years – one for each body". Their anger echoed throughout the courtroom after one of the biggest funeral scandals ever uncovered in Britain. In response, the Department of Health and Social Care pledged to introduce formal regulation of the funeral industry following what it described as the "harrowing case in Hull". Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper said comprehensive proposals would be brought forward to guarantee "respect and dignity for the deceased in every setting". Passing sentence, Mr Justice Hillard said he had "never known offences affect so many people so deeply". He told Bush the sentence could never repair the damage inflicted on hundreds of devastated families. The judge said Bush had been "so preoccupied with his own enrichment" that he behaved in a "shocking and disgraceful way" towards the dead while treating grieving relatives with "dishonesty, deception and heartlessness". He added that Bush would even reuse coffins already paid for and leave bodies in unrefrigerated conditions if it saved money. The court heard no family that had used Legacy could ever be certain they had received the correct ashes. Some were left with nothing at all, while others received only an empty plastic bag or a tiny quantity of ashes recovered by police. Over four days of emotional victim impact statements, Bush remained largely expressionless as more than 200 victims described the lasting trauma they had suffered. One widow called him a "cruel conman" who had exploited people's grief to finance his lifestyle. The shocking offences only came to light in March 2024 while Bush was holidaying with his daughter in Arizona. After asking another funeral firm to recover a body in his absence, a casual Legacy worker unexpectedly revealed that bodies had been stored at the premises "for years". Robert Bush Police searching the site found what prosecutors described as a shocking scene. Decomposing bodies remained on cold-storage racks, the remains of a foetus were discovered inside a paper bag on the floor, ashes were kept in mouldy boxes and scattered across the premises, photographs had been removed from coffins and jewellery had not been returned to families. Investigators discovered 31 bodies, including unborn baby Sunny Beverley-Conlin, that should have been cremated months earlier. Most of those families had already been handed ashes they believed belonged to their loved ones. Another 57 families were later identified as having received either the wrong ashes or none at all. Police also found a large quantity of unlabelled ashes, leaving investigators unable to guarantee that anyone who used Legacy during the period had received the correct remains. Bush refused to explain how the ashes became mixed up during police interviews. Detective Superintendent Al Curtis said evidence suggested Bush mixed ashes together and used a communal store when families requested the remains of relatives. In several cases, Bush handed over incorrect ashes despite collecting the correct ones from crematoriums only days later. Although he insisted, "I've never given ashes back that weren't ashes," he refused to provide any further explanation. The court also heard one urn given to Lucy Ness following the loss of her unborn baby was found to contain what investigators believe were animal remains. She was one of four women wrongly told they had received the remains of their unborn babies. Bush blamed financial difficulties for his actions, telling police he faced debts of around £90,000 after customers failed to pay. He claimed he intended to increase business and clear the backlog within months but never managed to recover. Despite those claims, prosecutors revealed Bush spent £42,000 on holidays and £21,000 on motorcycle racing over seven years while customers were being defrauded. Many victims had struggled to pay funeral costs, with some relying on online fundraising to bury loved ones. Witnesses described Bush as appearing caring and helpful, often offering discounts or suggesting cheaper funeral arrangements. Brooke Atkinson accused him of deliberately targeting vulnerable people who were least able to protect themselves. The court also heard from 226 pensioners who said they had been conned into buying fake funeral plans, wiping out precious savings intended to spare their families future expense. Bush pleaded guilty to 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial, 30 counts of fraud by false representation relating to the bodies found at Legacy, four fraud offences involving unborn babies, a further fraud charge covering the ashes of 57 people, fraudulent trading linked to funeral plans between 2012 and 2024, and theft from 12 charities. The Government has now committed to introducing regulation of the funeral sector following the case, while families continue to demand stronger protections and say no sentence can undo the suffering they have endured. Victims call Robert Bush jail term ‘atrocious’ as government vows regulation
