Jailed funeral bosses 'betrayed' trust of bereaved

Warning: The following report contains distressing details and images

Two funeral directors who kept 46 bodies in unrefrigerated conditions have been jailed for four years.

Richard Elkin, 49 and Hayley Bell, 42, ran Elkin and Bell Funerals in Gosport, Hampshire.

They were found guilty following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court of preventing a lawful and decent burial of a body, causing a public nuisance by keeping bodies in unrefrigerated conditions and fraudulent trading, between June 2022 and December 2023.

In a statement outside the court, families said the "entire, unregulated funeral directing industry has been allowed to police itself... for too long".

They added: "We are calling loudly and clearly for urgent, accountable regulation. If this case does not force change what will?"

In December 2023, bailiffs alerted police after going to repossess the premises on Nobes Avenue because of unpaid debts.

There, detectives discovered the body of 87-year-old William Mitchell, which had been in the mortuary room for 36 days and showed "obvious signs of decomposition", the court heard.

The room was uncooled and water was dripping down the walls from a leaky ceiling.

Mitchell's family had been led to believe he had been cremated in a private ceremony and were "incredulous" when police told them his body was still at the funeral home, the jury was told.

Elkin told police the cremation had not taken place because they had not received payment but, in fact, they had been paid in full, prosecutors said.

Prosecutor Lesley Bates KC told the court Elkin and Bell Funerals was "insolvent" and its business model was "a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul".

She said a cooling system fitted in the mortuary was not working and was unsuitable anyway because of the size of the room.

Assistant Chief Constable Tony Rowlinson said bodies had been kept in inappropriate conditions "time and time again".

"What has happened here is a complete abandonment and a recklessness around the trust that Elkin and Bell had with the families that they were supposed to be serving," he said.

"It is shocking, distressing and a complete betrayal. My feelings and heart go out to all of the families affected."

Andrew Eddy, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Today's sentence marks an important moment — one of the first times funeral directors have been held criminally accountable for denying families a lawful and dignified burial.

"Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell abused their position of trust, stored bodies in degrading conditions, lied to grieving relatives, and continued trading when they knew they could not meet even basic obligations."

Corrinne Boulton, 42, and Sam Boulton, 35, from Portsmouth, were contacted by police during the investigation because of concerns over the care of their son's body.

Albie Boulton was born prematurely in hospital at 21 weeks in June 2023 and lived for 11 minutes.

Corrinne told the BBC she was friends with Hayley Bell and trusted her to look after Albie and to conduct his funeral.

Mrs Boulton said: "She was the best of the best as far as I was concerned. I just thought he was there being looked after properly and correctly."

Months after Albie's funeral had taken place, police discovered concerns about his care at Elkin and Bell.

Detectives found that environmental health officers visited the premises on 6 July 2023 and were shown an empty mortuary room.

At the funeral directors' trial, the jury was told that Albie was in the care of Elkin and Bell at that time.

The prosecution suggested the body had been "concealed" and raised questions about why that may have happened and its condition.

Corrinne said the idea that Albie may have been "hidden" felt "deceitful".

Her husband, Sam, said: "We have to come to terms that we are never going to find out the truth of what actually happened with him and how he was looked after - it's just something we are just going to have to live with."

Mr Boulton added that Elkin and Bell had "betrayed the trust" of his family.

The court heard further extremely distressing details in victim impact statements from families.

Lee Williams, whose mother Patricia died in June 2023, said trust had been "shattered".

He said he witnessed his mother's body in a state of decomposition and smelt it, something, he said, "no one should have to endure".

Lee's brother Jamie said he felt shock and disbelief and suffered sleepless nights because of what happened to his mother.

A statutory code of conduct for funeral directors is in place in Scotland but in England, Wales and Northern Ireland standards of care in the industry remain unregulated.

Gosport MP, Conservative Dame Caroline Dinenage, said she wanted the government to act.

"I couldn't believe it when I realised that anybody can set up a business as a funeral director, in their own living room if they want to," she said.

"You don't have to have any special training, any special licensing.

"The businesses should be regulated and they should be inspected."

Funeral industry trade associations require their members to comply with strict codes of conduct.

The National Association of Funeral Directors represents more than 4,000 funeral homes in the UK.

Chief executive Andrew Judd said members were subject to unannounced inspections and must follow guidelines about how bodies are kept, including on refrigeration.

He said he supported regulation across the industry to make high standards universal.

"We want a consistent framework, whether the funeral director is a large provider or a small provider. We think that the bereaved and the dead they mourn have a right to a consistent standard," Judd said.

He offered reassurance for families, adding that good funeral directors have nothing to hide.

"If, because of stories in the news, you want to see for yourself then you should ask the funeral director what facilities they have and if need be you can have a look at them," he said.

An independent inquiry has recommended a statutory regulatory regime for funeral directors in England.

A government spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the grieving families affected by this awful situation. They rightly expected their loved ones to be treated with dignity and respect.

"We are committed to taking action to ensure the highest standards are always met by funeral directors, and are now considering the full range of options to improve standards."

If you have been affected by issues surrounding bereavement, information is available via BBC Action Line, including contact details of organisations that can help.