Flax Bourton: Crackdown on funeral directors leaving bodies in mortuary

Bristol City Council says there are concerns the mortuary is running out of space

New fines to deter funeral directors from leaving deceased people in a mortuary for too long could be agreed.

So-called "no frills" funeral directors would be fined up to £200 a day if they leave bodies at the public mortuary in Flax Bourton, near Bristol.

Bristol City Council wants to pass the proposal amid concerns the mortuary is running out of space.

One funeral director said the issue is caused by larger companies "ruining it for everyone".

The byelaw would charge funeral directors a fine after three days following the end of a coroner's investigation, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Flax Bourton mortuary investigates unexplained or unnatural deaths in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, and Bath and North East Somerset.

A council report says the cost of keeping bodies at the mortuary is borne by taxpayers

A report to Bristol City Council said: "There is increasing pressure on storage capacity at Flax Bourton mortuary.

"This is partly due to some funeral directors not collecting deceased people promptly.

"At the moment, funeral businesses make no payment to help cover the costs of keeping the deceased at Flax Bourton mortuary.

"This means the cost is borne by taxpayers. Some funeral directors … are keeping deceased people at the mortuary for long periods after the coroner has released the bodies for collection.

"This means the taxpayer is paying to store the deceased people for longer, while the private funeral companies keep the fees paid by the families as profit.

"The four councils responsible for funding the mortuary cannot afford to continue to subsidise the operations of private funeral directors in the way that we do now."

Funeral directors have said part of the problem is national direct cremation companies using Flax Bourton as "their own private mortuary".

One funeral business said: "It would make no difference to us or the average funeral director. We collect within 48 hours. The problem is being caused by national online companies who don't have local storage facilities, and use the mortuary for temporary storage."

Another added: "Where humanly possible we always collect our deceased within three working days, and we are fortunate that we have the mortuary facilities at our premises. It's a shame the larger and direct funeral companies are now ruining it for everyone, by using the facilities as their own private mortuary."

The city council consulted the public about the changes for six weeks between September and October last year.

The consultation showed two thirds agreeing with the charges, with 27% disagreeing.

Councillors are due to vote on the byelaw during a full council meeting on 9 January.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]