Regulation of funeral directors 'long overdue'

The parents of two dead children whose bodies were kept at a funeral director's home in Leeds have welcomed the government's plan to look into formal regulation of the funeral sector.

Zoe Ward's baby, Bleu, was three weeks old when he died of brain damage at Leeds General Infirmary at 2021, she later discovered he had been kept at Amie Upton's home sat in front of the television.

The government announcement came after funeral director Robert Bush, from Hull, was jailed for failing to bury or cremate people and giving bereaved relatives the ashes of strangers.

Ward said regulation should have been in place "a long time ago" and it was "long overdue".

"I find it positive. I hope its not going to take too long because while this is happening there are still those rogue funeral directors out there hurting people," she said.

Following her son's death, Ward asked Florrie's Army, run by Upton, to arrange his funeral and said the service she was offered sounded "amazing".

However, she became unsure when her son's body was picked up by a man in a "scruffy" silver car.

"People were looking in on him, there were no blacked out windows, people could see my dead baby on that front seat."

The next day she decided to visit Upton at her home.

"I looked over and Bleu was in a bouncer chair, mucky, and she was bouncing him with her foot.

"There was another dead baby on the sofa and I had a good look, I shouldn't have been able too."

Ward's mother then arranged for another funeral director to collect Bleu's body and he was removed from Upton's care.

"I will never get over what I saw in that house that day," she said.

She said she hopes that if new laws are introduced it would give people a "bit of peace" in "knowing we are safe after death".

A BBC Investigation in August 2025 reported that Upton had been banned from entering any of Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust's mortuaries and maternity wards.

Upton previously said she had only ever had two complaints in her eight years of running her baby loss support and funeral service.

At the time, West Yorkshire Police confirmed it had investigated the funeral service but said after "extensive enquiries no potential crimes were identified".

The funeral industry is unregulated in England and Wales. There are no legal requirements about how and where bodies should be stored, and no qualifications are needed to set up as a funeral director.

Bush of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull admitted 67 offences, including denying 30 people a decent and proper burial, theft from 12 charities and fraudulent trading over a period of almost 12 years.

Following his sentencing, the Department for Health and Social Care said it would develop "proposals for formal regulation of the funeral sector", with families due to be consulted.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: "We are determined to drive rogue operators out of this industry, and protect other families from suffering this same heartache.

"Every person in every situation deserves dignity in death, and every bereaved family deserves certainty that their loved ones are being treated with care and respect."

Cody and Liam Townend's daughter, Macie-Mae, was stillborn at a Leeds hospital in January 2025, with the pair appointing Upton to oversee her funeral.

It later emergd Upton had been keeping their daughter's body at her home, six miles away from the funeral parlour where they believed her body was being looked after.

The couple said they had found Macie-Mae's body on a sofa at Upton's home wrapped in a blanket, 10 days after they had last seen her.

Cody said she had called Upton at one stage and she told her the baby was "fine" lying next to her.

"I said 'why are you still at work' and she said 'I am not I am at home'."

The couple went to collect their daughter.

"She was stood at the doorstep smoking, we walked in and the baby was lying on the sofa with a blanket over her.

"I was shocked, I just wanted to get the baby out of there."

The couple said they were "relieved" about plans for formal regulation of funeral directors.

"Actions speak louder than words, it's all right saying it but they need to get it done," Liam said.

"We're all going to die one day and what's better than knowing you are going to be safe when you pass away."

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