WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT. Robert Bush is being sentenced for 67 offences, spanning 12 years, at Hull Crown Court after a 'horror scene' was discovered at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors11:56, 31 Jul 2026Updated 12:07, 31 Jul 2026Live: Sentencing of disgraced funeral director Robert BushA funeral director described as 'pure evil' by his victims is set to learn his fate today as his five-day sentencing hearing reaches its conclusion.‌Since Monday, Hull Crown Court has heard harrowing testimonies from more than 200 of Robert Bush's victims. The disgraced funeral director, 48, kept bodies for months after they should have been cremated at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull.‌He also took money for funeral plans without actually making arrangements, stole charity donations collected at services and handed families ashes that didn't belong to their loved ones - and in one case were actually from an animal.‌Bush will be sentenced today for 67 offences which took place over the course of 12 years, impacting hundreds of victims. Prosecutors have said Bush should face a 20 to 25 year sentence, but his case has been described as "unprecedented". The court heard there were no sentencing guidelines for this situation, and no maximum penalty for the offence of preventing a lawful burial, which accounts for 30 of the charges against Bush.‌His horrific offending was uncovered two years ago when one of his casual workers made an offhanded comment to two men who were helping Bush while he was on holiday in Arizona. Bush had contacted Gary Pickering and Steve Emmerson - Directors of Evergreen Funeral Directors - to ask for their help with a body recovery whilst he was abroad.Their firm contacted Patrick Moore, a casual worker for Bush, who mentioned that in the past, Bush had told him "not to bring anyone back to Legacy nor help put a body in the fridge area." Mr Moore than made a comment 'out of the blue' about Legacy to Mr Pickering and Mr Emmerson, saying: "You don't know the half of it, bodies have been there for years."‌This raised suspicions that things at Legacy were not operating as they should be. Mr Emmerson contacted Mr Moore and asked him how many bodies were there, with Mr Moore counting up to 29 bodies and describing it as something from a "horror scene". The court heard that Mr Emmerson and Mr Pickering persuaded Mr Moore to let them into the site on Hessle Road, despite his initial fear of "repercussions".The men were "shocked" at what they found and flagged down a passing police car to report it. When police arrived they found bodies stored on the racks in the cold storage area, the vast majority of which were "uncovered and in varying states of decomposition".‌The court heard the rest of the site was in a “lamentable state”, with ashes in mouldy boxes and even strewn across the floor, photographs left out of coffins and jewellery not returned to families. Families had complained about a bad smell coming from the ­premises with one noticing mould on his gran’s coffin.Details of Bush's financial situation were also heard in court, including that more than £3million was paid into his business and personal accounts between march 2017 and April 2024 - but the turnover reported to HMRC in these years did not reflect this. During this time Bush's "profilgate personal spending and transfers to his wife, Vikki Bush, account for £879,655.94", said prosecutor Chris Paxton KC.Article continues belowOver the course of seven years while he defrauded customers who trusted him with their loved ones, Bush spent £42,000 on holidays, £21,000 on his motorcycle racing hobby, and £17,400 on home improvements. In mitigtaion, Richard Wright KC said Bush had prioritised himself and his family over customers, and was now treated as a "pariah - hated and despised."Bush pleaded guilty in April to 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial, and theft from 12 charities. He had already admitted 30 counts of fraud by false representation relating to bodies found at the site, and four "foetus allegations" of fraud, where he gave women ashes, falsely saying they were "the remains of their unborn". Bush also pleaded guilty to a further charge of fraud, covering the ashes of 57 people between 2017 and 2024, and one of fraudulent trading relatin to funeral plans between 2012 and 2024.