- Fraudulent funeral director Robert Bush spent over £42,000 on holidays, £21,000 on motorcycle racing, and £17,400 on home improvements between 2017 and 2024, while defrauding hundreds of customers.
- Bush, who victims previously described as ‘evil’, is being sentenced for 67 offences spanning 12 years, including keeping bodies for months, providing incorrect ashes, selling unauthorised funeral plans, and stealing charity donations collected at services.
- The court heard that Bush transferred nearly £1.49 million from his business accounts into his personal bank account between 2017 and 2024, with total receipts into his accounts exceeding £3 million, which was not reflected in company reports.
- Among his victims, Bush failed to cremate an unborn baby, leaving it in a paper bag, while telling the grieving mother it had been cremated, and also stole donations intended for 12 charities, including Macmillan Cancer Support and Help for Heroes.
- Police discovered 35 bodies and over 100 sets of ashes at his Legacy Independent Funeral Directors premises in March 2024, leading to Bush pleading guilty to 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial, theft, 30 counts of fraud by false representation, four 'foetus allegations' of fraud, and fraudulent trading.
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