Undertaker crushed to death by lift, inquest hears

An undertaker was found crushed to death by a piece of equipment used to move bodies from a fridge in the back room of a funeral parlour, an inquest heard.

Funeral administrator Sally Blundell, 58, had been working alone at the East of England Co-op Funeral Services branch in Swaffham, Norfolk, on 1 December 2023.

A inquest into her death at Norfolk Coroner's Court heard she was found by a colleague from another branch after concerns were raised by a family who had an appointment, but found no staff.

Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake said Mrs Blundell's medical cause of death was recorded as "contusion and compression of the chest by an external object".

Dawn Salisbury, who had made arrangements to see a deceased relative, became concerned when there were no staff at the funeral parlour for her 11:00 GMT appointment.

In a statement read to the inquest, she said that "after about 10 minutes I decided to ring the landline number for that branch".

When she could not hear a phone ringing within the branch, she tried calling the celebrant she had been dealing with and a message was passed to another branch.

Stephen Kemp, who works in the Dereham branch, came to the Swaffham branch and rang the emergency services when he discovered Blundell deceased, the inquest heard.

In a statement, he said that a "hydraulic hoist had come down on her body and was crushing her over the chest area", which was echoed by a police officer who attended the scene.

A police investigation was launched before it was taken over by Breckland Council.

Paul Bradbury, a senior food and safety officer, said the council looked at the condition and maintenance of the trolley, arrangements for lone working and training of staff.

His report said Mrs Blundell had been due to facilitate a viewing of a deceased person that morning.

The 200kg hydraulic scissor lift mortuary trolley, manufactured in 2018, was sent for examination by the Health and Safety Executive, Bradbury said, and that this identified issues including that "the return spring on the control handle wasn't fully operating and didn't close the operating valve without manual assistance".

His report also noted that "the design of the handle means in some positions it can be knocked against a solid object and advanced".

The lift had last been checked in October 2023, with no defects identified.

Mrs Blundell's daughter, Lucy Blundell, said in a statement to the court: "I understand she had raised concerns about lone working."

She said that her mother, who was from Great Cressingham, Norfolk, was "respected by her colleagues" and had a "wide network of friends".

The coroner said Mrs Blundell was last seen on CCTV in the branch at 09:46 that day, walking away after taking a call on her work mobile phone.

The inquest, being heard with a jury, continues.

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