Funeral fraud charges after five-year probe

Steven Drinkwater is alleged to have wrongfully taken cash from people arranging funerals and headstones for relatives

A suspect police say they wanted to speak with for more than five years has been charged with eight counts of fraud.

Steven Drinkwater is alleged to have wrongfully taken cash from people who were arranging funerals and headstones for their deceased relatives.

The 46-year-old, from Ottery St Mary, was arrested in Devon on Sunday.

He was due to appear before Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday, with the offences he is accused of said to have taken place between 2013 and 2015.

Det Sgt Isobel Griffiths, from Wolverhampton police, said the investigation continued and urged anyone with information to get in touch.