British funeral director Robert Bush has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting to dozens of offences involving the mishandling of bodies and cremated remains at his funeral home in Hull, northeastern England. Bush, 48, ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors for more than 12 years. As reported by the AFP, a UK court found that he stored bodies in "dreadful" conditions, failed to arrange timely cremations, and handed grieving families the wrong ashes, causing immense emotional distress. Why was Robert Bush jailed? Bush pleaded guilty to 67 criminal offences. Hull Crown Court sentenced him to 20 years in prison, with the judge ordering that he must serve at least half of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Judge Nicholas Hilliard said Bush's offences were committed on an "industrial scale" and caused "anguish and pain on a scale beyond comprehension."What did police find? The case came to light after a tip-off in 2024 prompted police to search Bush's funeral parlour. Investigators discovered 31 bodies in cold storage that should have been cremated months earlier. Among them was a stillborn baby whose body had remained at the premises for nearly two years. The court heard that many of the bodies were left uncovered on storage racks in what the judge described as "dreadful" conditions. A former employee reportedly called the funeral home a "horror scene." Police also recovered more than 100 sets of ashes and found at least 46 cases in which families had been given the ashes of the wrong person. In several instances, relatives were left with no remains of their loved ones. Some received only an empty plastic bag or a small amount of ashes that police were later able to recover. Judge Hilliard said anyone who had used the funeral parlour while it was operating could no longer be confident that their loved one's remains had been handled properly or that the ashes they received were genuine.Court rejects Bush's explanation Bush initially told investigators that delays in cremations were caused by cash-flow problems. However, the judge dismissed that explanation. According to the court, Bush repeatedly used his position to enrich himself dishonestly at the expense of grieving families. "I have no doubt that the defendant behaved in such a deceitful way because of financial greed," Judge Hilliard said.Calls for stricter funeral industry regulation The case has sparked renewed calls for tighter regulation of the funeral industry in England and Wales. During the sentencing hearing, families described the trauma they experienced after learning how their loved ones had been treated. Currently, funeral directors in England and Wales can operate without a licence, allowing anyone to set up a funeral business. Following the verdict, British politician Andy Burnham backed demands for stronger oversight, saying the industry needs proper regulation to ensure no family has to endure a similar ordeal again.With AFP inputs