Hull councillors pass emergency call for funeral regulation

Floral tributes in front of Legacy's premises in Hessle Road, Hull

Hull councillors have passed an emergency motion calling for the funeral industry to be regulated in light of allegations against a city funeral director.

Police have continued to investigate "concern for care of the deceased" at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors.

It has branches in Hull and the East Riding.

The motion was passed unanimously at a full Hull City Council meeting on Monday.

Humberside Police launched an investigation after receiving a report of "concern for care of the deceased".

The force later confirmed 35 bodies and a quantity of ashes had been removed from Legacy's premises on Hessle Road in Hull.

Since then, some families who used Legacy have questioned whether ashes they were given are those of their relatives.

One grieving husband was told his wife had been cremated after he had received a box of her ashes.

Peter Welburn now knows the ashes he was given cannot be those of his late wife Shirley

The motion, proposed by Councillor Daren Hale and seen by the BBC, stated it was "incredulous that no national statutory regulation is required for the conduct of the funeral home and undertaker functions".

It stated the lack of any statutory regulation would "come as a surprise to the public and many policymakers alike".

Uncertainty and upset

While acknowledging many funeral firms "conduct their businesses to the highest standards", it added there "needs to be minimum standards for the industry".

The motion also acknowledged the "uncertainty and upset" the investigation has caused to those involved.

As a result of the council motion being passed, Matt Jukes, the authority's chief executive of Hull City Council, will be asked to write to government ministers to support "a national call for evidence" in relation to the funeral sector.

A 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman who were arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position remain on bail as police inquiries continue.