Robert Bush, of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, was jailed for 20 years today by a judge who branded him 'heartless' after police uncovered a 'horror scene' at the funeral home16:27, 31 Jul 2026A funeral director jailed for 20 years has been branded a ‘heartless, wicked and selfish monster’ by the families he traumatised.‌Now they are demanding a public inquiry into the funeral industry after it was revealed Robert Bush stored bodies and a foetus for up to two years. Dad-of-two Bush was sentenced for 67 offences spanning 12 years, affecting hundreds of victims in Hull and beyond.‌They had turned to him when they were at their most vulnerable. But while his business raked in more than £3 million he cut costs by using a bag of mixed ashes to hand out to the bereaved. One mum was handed animal and human ashes instead of the baby she’d miscarried.‌Police arrived at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors on Hessle Road in Hull back in March 2024 to find a ‘horror scene’ with 35 bodies and a room full of ashes. Some of the bodies were ‘rotting’ away. Bush, 48, from Otley, West Yorkshire, kept his head down throughout the sentencing as families listened in dignified silence, some with tears running down their faces.One relative whose grandfather was kept at the dirty premises by Bush, for 11 months said he was a 'pariah'. Natalie Smith, 49, told how her grandfather Norman Bridger, 94, was kept at Legacy for 11 months. She told how recently she had suffered another tragedy.‌“My husband died last year aged 53 and I had to organise his funeral. I made sure I collected his ashes myself and got to see him every day for two weeks. It makes you distrust everyone in that industry," she said. Heartbreakingly, she revealed: “My children aged 10 and nine said to me; ‘We’ve got daddy because we didn’t use Legacy’."‌Reflecting on the sentence at Hull crown court, she said: “I was quite pleased with the verdict, he got a longer sentence than I thought. I am relieved that all his luxurious lifestyle has been removed. He’s lost his freedom and now he can start feeling vulnerable like a lot of his victims did.”About Bush she said: “I just saw this person sat staring at the floor, he didn’t move until the Judge told him to stand. He’s no man really. He preyed on people at their most vulnerable time. He apologised when he came to court on Monday but the only thing sorry about was being caught.‌"He is the epitome of what I hate. He is a despicable human being, a selfish man and he has shown no emotion. He was a selfish pariah who preyed on the vulnerable. He had nowhere to hide in that courtroom. It was nice to see him so exposed.”And she added to calls for change, saying: “I’d like to see a public inquiry about the funeral industry as a whole, not just this case. I want the money used to get new legislation because I am worried about this happening again until things change.”The Judge had told the sentencing hearing he has never "known offences affect so many people and so many people so deeply". Jailing him, Mr Justice Hilliard KC, said he must have "a heartless side" for him to "treat the living and the dead in the way he did". He went on: "No sentence I pass can put right the harm the defendant has done. The pain that is still being suffered cannot be remedied by a sentence of imprisonment.‌"The defendant was so preoccupied with his own enrichment that he behaved in a shocking and disgraceful way to the deceased entrusted to his care. His behaviour to their living relatives was characterised by dishonesty, deception and heartlessness.There was no problem with the flow of cash as he claimed. The only problem was with the direction in which the cash was flowing."As he told the court how he'd been told Bush had shown regret and it seemed genuine, many of the victims' families shook their heads. The Judge told them: “I am conscious no sentence can ever be enough.”‌Phil Groizard, 65, told how his mum Carol, 83, was stored by Bush for six weeks. He said he'd found comfort joining the other families for the sentencing. Speaking alongside his wife Jackie Hill, 65, he said: "I was left in despair after finding out how he’d treated my mum with no dignity, leaving her in a fridge with other bodies. When I found out what he'd done, it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, it made me feel sick..”His wife added: “He’s a selfish monster, a wicked man and he’s shown no remorse. He should have got life. He’ll only be 58 when he gets out, he’s got away with it. What he’s done is left people in heartbreak.”‌Joanne Moody, 48, told how her dad Peter Moody, 65, was found at Legacy three months after his funeral. She says the ordeal has ‘crucified her’ adding: “I feel upset and really let down. I think he should have got 20 years for every one of them he left in that place, every one of them, if not more.“He was my dad and I love my dad and I wanted to do what I thought was right for my dad and he took it away from us all. He is one very sick and twisted man.”‌Karen Dry, a spokesperson for some families battled tears as she spoke in front of Hull crown court. Families held up pictures of the loved ones abused by Bush as she spoke. She said: “Finally, Mr Bush has been sent to prison. No matter how many years, it will never be long enough for us.”She continued: “We have had many moving victim personal statements from the families affected. These testimonies serve as a stark reminder of the heinous and egregious acts committed by a funeral director who acted with complete impunity for far too long. Mr Bush did not make a mistake.His acts were deliberate.‌“His own barrister said, the breach of trust is obvious and gross and tainted the memory of every person. It underscores the funeral industry that is currently in desperate need of strict regulation. We all deserve dignity in death and this was totally denied to our loved ones... We now have closure from the court proceedings but we remind our local MPs that an inquiry should now be established.”She praised the funeral directors who finally blew the whistle on Bush after gaining access to Legacy while he was away on holiday in the US. She said: “Thank you also to Mr Pickering and Mr Emerson of Evergreen Funeral Directors. They acted on their moral and professional obligation without delay, when no one else did."The officer in charge of the case said there was evidence of bags being opened and ashes being mixed at Robert Bush's funeral home. It is believed Bush was mixing up people's ashes and using them as a communal store he could dip into when chased by grieving relatives, the officer in charge of the case said.‌Detective Superintendent Alan Curtis said: "Certainly from some of the stories that families have told us about pressuring him for their loved one's ashes to be given back, he would go into the back and get some ashes and then present them as if it was their loved ones. So there was definitely evidence of that happening. We know that was the case, although he's never said as much in interview, because he's always no-commented on anything we asked him about the ashes, apart from confirming that they were human."Mr Curtis said that despite being interviewed numerous times, Bush has "never given an account as to really why this has all happened, or any kind of remorse". The officer said one of his officers noted that he is a “lot more shrewd than he was portraying”.‌He said: "I think he liked to come across as quite a scatty, poor, difficult, bad businessman when actually I think the reality is that he knew exactly what was going on and he's committed all these offences and only someone that's quite intelligent and smart and shrewd and deceitful would be able to commit those."He said the only person who knew his motive was "Robert Bush himself". He added: "Yes, Robert Bush was in debt. Yes, there's a financial aspect of this as well, but as a normal person, morally and ethically, I can't see how anyone could have committed any of these offences and have any justification or reason behind that at all. So the only person I think that can answer that question is Robert Bush."‌When police were called to the funeral home in 2024, they found 31 bodies that should have been cremated and 186 sets of ashes. Perhaps the most shocking find was that among the bodies was that of stillborn baby Sunny Beverley-Conlin.Mr Curtis said: "Sunny had been in there longer than anyone else, close to two years. So it was disturbing. It was harrowing as well. We would never expect to come across anything like that."He continued: "I can remember when we went out to one family in particular, and we spoke to one of the loved ones, when we approached him and said that we had found his deceased wife at Legacy. He said, 'Well, if she's there, who have I been talking to on my shelf morning and night for the past six months?' The trauma this has caused people, you just cannot comprehend it."‌The investigation has been the largest in Humberside Police's history, and even involved liaising with the FBI about a similar case in America. Mr Curtis said that while more than 300 victims had been identified as part of the investigation, the true number could never be known.A helpline for potential victims set up in the wake of the discoveries at Legacy received 2,000 calls from people who thought their loved ones' remains might be affected. Mr Curtis described Bush's crimes as "abhorrent", adding: "I've never come across anything in my whole career as a police officer, or even as a senior investigating officer, dealing with serious and major incidents, anything like this before.Article continues below"How he dealt with the remains of people's loved ones, ashes, the frauds that he committed around funeral plans, the theft of charitable donations. You cannot comprehend any logical reason why someone would have done that. It just shows a complete lack of empathy, compassion, for people."