Funeral fundraiser for 'hero' paramedic after firm goes bust

Bob Lee was a paramedic in Staffordshire for four decades

A fundraiser has been set up to pay for the funeral of a "hero" paramedic after the firm he had a pre-paid plan with collapsed.

Bob Lee, a retired paramedic who served Staffordshire Ambulance Service for four decades, had paid for his and his wife's funerals.

However, after his death earlier this month, his daughter realised Safe Hands, the funeral plan provider he had used, went bust in 2022.

One of Mr Lee's former colleagues has now set up a fundraiser in an attempt to raise the amount needed for his funeral.

Bob Lee paid more than £7,000 to Safe Hands to finance his and his wife's funerals, before the company went bust

Mr Lee's daughter Rachael found her father dead at his home in Brownhills, Walsall, on 4 December.

She believes her father pre-paid £3,750 for each funeral, meaning her family is now £7,500 out of pocket.

The position was made worse when Central Co-op Funeral told her the plans "had no value" because of the collapse of the company.

Ms Lee was also told she would not get any money back as the plans had been paid before regulations covering funeral firms were introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority in 2022.

“I want to help my dad, to give him a hero send-off," she told BBC News.

“He was everybody’s friend, brother, hero. They don’t make them like him anymore."

'Devoted to my mom'

Among many things he did in his life, Ms Lee said her father had been a whistleblower in South Africa during the apartheid era, resulting in him being kicked out of the country.

Alongside his work as a paramedic, he was also a parish councillor, a community campaigner, and a devoted member of his local church.

Mr Lee was 70 when he died, after previously suffering a heart attack and becoming diabetic.

However, Ms Lee said she believed her father's health had deteriorated when wife Carol, 68, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2017 and has lived in a care home since.

"He was devoted to my mom," Ms Lee said.

"He visited her two to three times a day in the care home, and organised events for the home such as Punch and Judy shows and a carol service with singers from his church."

Bob Lee was devoted to his wife, Carol Lee, and would visit her in her care home several times a day

Ms Lee said she had been inundated with people reaching out to her to tell her how her father had helped them and even received messages of condolence from the staff at his local branch of Costa Coffee.

"He was the most humble, beautiful man," she said.

“He was the NHS and the ambulance service, all the way through. He was there for thousands of people over his 40 years as a paramedic."

Ms Lee said her father was always the first on a scene and would take on difficult tasks in a bid to reduce the trauma his colleagues experienced, resulting in him suffering from PTSD.

Rachael Lee said her father was “everybody’s friend, brother, hero"

Funeral plans are designed to allow people to set money aside during their lives, to help their families pay for a funeral when they die.

The plans became particularly popular as funeral prices soared, but there were questions over the lack of protection if a provider went bust.

'Lost peace and security'

Safe Hands collapsed in March 2022, throwing 46,000 customers' contracts into doubt.

Its collapse meant pre-paid funerals might not be honoured, with some people paying in instalments of up to £4,000.

A fraud inquiry into the business was launched in October 2023, as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it was investigating a suspected fraud at the company and its parent, SHP Capital Holdings Ltd.

Nick Ephgrave, director of the SFO, said: "Thousands of individuals from all corners of the UK lost peace and security after being sold a product on the basis it would help reduce the burden on their loved ones upon their death."