Two charged after probe into funeral home

Officers have asked people not to speculate about the situation

Two people have been charged following a "complex investigation" into a funeral directors.

Police began looking into Elkin and Bell Funerals in Gosport, Hampshire, following a report made about the business on 10 December 2023.

Richard Elkin, aged 48, and Hayley Bell, aged 41, both of Nobes Avenue, have been charged with preventing the lawful and decent burial of a dead body between 3 November 2023 and 11 December 2023.

They are due to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on 19 December.

Both were also charged with intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance between 27 June 2022 and 11 December 2023, and carrying on a business with intent to defraud creditors/for other fraudulent purpose between 10 August 2022 and 11 December 2023.

Elkin was further charged with:

• making a false instrument with intent for it to be accepted as genuine

• using a false instrument with intent for it to be accepted as genuine

• possession of an offensive weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid or gas, namely pepper spray

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has urged the public not to speculate on the circumstances of the charges.

"This has been a complex investigation in which police have engaged with the affected families throughout, before submitting a file to the Crown Prosecution Service in June this year," a spokesperson added.