Linsey Smith

Former Legacy Independent Funeral Directors owner Robert Bush admitted 67 offences affecting about 300 victims, including fraudulent trading, failing to provide proper burials and giving families the ashes of strangers. His five-day sentencing hearing at Hull Crown Court detailed distressing treatment of the deceased and the anguish suffered by bereaved relatives. Bush was sentenced to 20 years in prison after unsuccessful attempts to prevent a trial, while the case prompted calls for greater regulation of the funeral industry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Former Legacy Independent Funeral Directors owner Robert Bush was sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting 67 offences affecting about 300 victims. His crimes included fraudulent trading, failing to provide proper burials and giving bereaved families ashes belonging to other people. The five-day sentencing hearing detailed the profound emotional harm caused to families and highlighted concerns about the lack of regulation in the funeral industry across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The case has prompted political calls to review funeral-industry laws and questions about local authorities' responsibilities in registering deaths.

The Crown Prosecution Service plans to pursue Robert Bush’s bank accounts and assets after he was sentenced to 20 years for 67 offences connected to Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull. Bush failed to bury some bodies properly, left a stillborn baby’s remains unattended, gave families the wrong ashes, sold unauthorized funeral plans and took money intended for charities. Prosecutors say more than 200 people were affected by the fake plans, while over £3.5 million passed through Legacy and Bush’s personal accounts between 2017 and 2024. The case has prompted calls for stronger regulation of the funeral industry.

Detective Superintendent Al Curtis of Humberside Police fears Robert Bush committed further undiscovered crimes after his conviction and 20-year sentence for 67 offences involving Legacy Independent Funeral Directors. Police found 35 bodies, around half a tonne of ashes and the remains of a premature baby at the Hull funeral home, where ashes and personal possessions had been left in chaotic conditions. Bush admitted making poor choices and apologised, but Curtis said he did not believe Bush showed genuine remorse. The case has also highlighted the lack of legal regulation governing the funeral industry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

UK shoppers are paying more for burgers, bread rolls and salad, but farmers and food producers say they are not benefiting proportionally. Beef farmers received 8% less on average while retail beef prices rose 9%; wheat prices fell slightly as bread-roll prices increased 2%; and vegetable growers received 12.6% more while shoppers paid 8% more. Producers say wages, rent, fuel, haulage, fertiliser and other operating costs are absorbing the additional revenue. Defra says it is supporting farmers through increased investment, lower red-diesel duty and possible action on fertiliser tariffs.

Beef, bread rolls and salad have become more expensive in the UK, contributing to so-called “burgerflation”, but the farmers and food producers interviewed say they are not benefiting proportionally. Beef farmers received 8% less on average while shoppers paid 9% more for beef year on year; wheat prices fell slightly while bakery costs rose; and vegetable growers received 12.6% more even as fuel and fertiliser costs absorbed the increase. Farmers and businesses attribute the pressure to wages, rent, insurance, transport, energy and other input costs. The government says it is supporting farmers through funding, lower red-diesel duty and possible fertiliser-tariff changes.

Lucy Ness says Humberside Police told her that ashes returned by funeral director Robert Bush after her 2021 miscarriage were animal remains. Police found that Bush collected her baby's ashes two days after he had already given the couple an urn, while prosecutors said the ashes could not have belonged to her baby. Bush is being sentenced at Hull Crown Court for 67 offences, including denying 30 people a proper burial and fraud involving strangers' ashes. Ness says the case has harmed her mental health and is calling for stronger regulation of the funeral industry.

Lucy Ness says police told her that the ashes returned to her after her 2021 miscarriage were animal remains rather than those of her baby. Records indicated that Robert Bush, owner of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors, collected the baby's ashes two days after giving the couple an urn. Bush is being sentenced at Hull Crown Court for 67 offences, including denying 30 people proper burials and fraud involving strangers' ashes. Ness says the experience has harmed her mental health and is calling for regulation of the funeral industry.

Robert Bush, the former owner of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, admitted 67 offences after police found 35 bodies and more than 100 sets of ashes at the funeral parlour in March 2024. Prosecutors told Hull Crown Court that bodies had been left for months or years in poor conditions, families had received the wrong ashes, and Bush failed to arrange lawful burials and cremations. Victims described profound emotional and psychological harm, including having to arrange second funerals and questioning whether earlier ceremonies were legitimate. The prosecution said more than £3m passed through Bush's accounts between 2017 and 2024 and argued that he prioritized personal spending over dealing with bodies in his care. His five-day sentencing hearing is continuing.

Lincolnshire Police warned that untrained members of the public taking in injured badgers can endanger the animals after officers seized a badly neglected cub from a home. The cub, now cared for by the Lincolnshire Badger Group, had been improperly fed and kept in poor conditions. Authorities urged people to contact qualified wildlife organisations, noting badgers are protected by law and should not be handled due to safety risks. Wildlife charities advised observing injured animals from a distance and calling professional rescue services.