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Devastated victims of funeral fraudster Robert Bush have been telling how his actions caused untold misery and a second wave of grief for bereaved families.

In emotional scenes at Hull Crown Court, relatives of the dead wept as they described the moment they learned the ashes they had been given did not belong to their loved ones.

Some had placed the remains in jewellery or even used them in tattoos in tribute.

Dozens of victims have been outlining their grief to the court as part of a five–day sentencing hearing for the owner of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors premises in Hull.

Bush, red–faced and wearing a black suit and dark tie in the dock, showed little emotion.

David Burton Died aged 75, October 21, 2023. Body recovered from Legacy, March 2024.

David Burton's (pictured) granddaughter, Rhea, used his ashes to get a tattoo which Bush said was a 'great idea'

Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of funeral director Robert Bush appearing at Hull Crown Court

His granddaughter, Rea Burton, said: 'The loss of our father and grandfather was one of the hardest and most upsetting times of our lives.

'Until his passing we had never had to organise a funeral before. Rob Bush made us feel at ease and we believed him to be kind and caring. Rob guided us through an extremely hard process. He assured us that our loved one would be treated with as much love and care as any human being deserves.

'We felt fortunate to have received his ashes back in time for our first Christmas without him.

'With those ashes we made necklaces so we would always have him with us.

'When we received the news, four months after his funeral, that Robert Bush had never laid our beloved Dad and Grandad to rest, it shattered our world.

'The grief we were slowly beginning to live with then consumed us for a second time.

'We had mistakenly placed our trust in Rob. He did not treat Grandad with the dignity and respect he deserved.

'In reality, Rob had deceived us. He had abandoned and hidden our loved one for months and had given us a stranger's ashes, with a smile on his face.'

Norman Bridger Died aged 94 on April 20, 2023. Body recovered from Legacy, March 2024.

Norman Bridger (pictured) - his family kept his ashes on lockets around their necks

His daughter, Karen King, said: 'When Dad died, I had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. This was very much on my mind when I first went into the Legacy premises to speak with Robert Bush.

'I felt grateful to Dad that he had arranged a funeral plan so we didn't have to worry about payment. Bush just took advantage of him, keeping the money for himself. My lovely dad lay in a cardboard coffin for almost 11 months.

'It is beyond belief. I'll never know why. It feels he was just forgotten. When the police officers knocked on my door and gave me the news that Dad may still be at the funeral home, the feelings I had were overwhelming. I broke down in tears. How could someone be so cruel? Why would he just leave him there?'

Mark Hotham Died September 2023, aged 87. Body recovered from Legacy, March 2024.

Mark Hotham died in September 2023, aged 89. He weighed 19 stone at the time of his death, but at his funeral that month, the driver of the hearse managed to lift the coffin onto the trolley on his own

His carer, Debbie Keeting, who treated Mr Hotham as a grandfather, said: 'He [Mr Hotham] was an incredibly honest, hard–working, and proud man who lived with quiet strength and decency.

'It was both my duty and my honour to care for him.

'When he passed away at the age of 87, I was determined to fulfil all of his wishes for his funeral with respect and care.

'On the day of his funeral, I began to notice that things didn't feel right. I couldn't explain it at the time – but I knew that something was off.

'Later, the unthinkable truth came to light: His body had not been laid to rest as we were told. He had not been cremated.

'He had not been treated with the dignity he deserved. Instead, his decomposing body was later identified through DNA. No words can express how it feels to find out that someone you love so deeply was treated this way after death. I cry every day. My life has been on hold ever since. I cared for the ashes that were given to me. I took the urn out with me. I would talk to them and even set them at the Christmas dinner table with a cracker hat on them. I felt like he was still with me and it kept me going.

'All the time my grandad was rotting in that place.'

Ms Keeting also revealed that despite Mr Hotham weighing 19st when he died, at his funeral, the driver of the hearse mysteriously managed to single–handedly lift his coffin on to a trolley.

Mary Rhodes Died aged 80, November 16, 2023. Body recovered from Legacy in March 2024.

Mary Rhodes is pictured. Her family had made jewellery with what they thought were her ashes

Her daughter, Sarah Hepple, said: 'When I was contacted by the police to notify me about what had happened at Legacy, I felt that a nightmare had begun. How could someone do something so horrific? I had overwhelming feelings of hatred and contempt for Bush. He became prevalent in my head and even recently still comes to the forefront.

'The best I can describe my life is like a flower bulb which has roots. The roots are my husband, daughter and son, but what Bush has done has affected every one of those parts of my life down to the roots.

'Everyone kept telling me that Mum's soul has moved on and left her body, but Mum's body was left there without us knowing for months, and with strangers.

'I'd had jewellery made with what I thought were my Mum's ashes, which were the ones first given to me by Legacy. For months we've all carried a little piece of my Mum round with us, only to then find out that what we had was a total stranger.'

Susan Gorbutt Died aged 78, September 8, 2023. Body recovered from Legacy, March 2024

Susan Gorbutt is pictured. In his victim impact statement, her husband said: 'I feel sad and disappointed, but mostly guilty because I was unable to fulfil my wife's last request'

Susan Gorbutt's body was recovered from Legacy six months after her death.

When her husband, David Gorbutt, collected what he thought were her ashes in September 2023, he was handed a plain paper bag containing a small cardboard box with Susan's name. He said: 'I hope they're the right ones.'

Bush replied: 'Yes, they are definitely the right ones.'

In his victim impact statement, Mr Gorbutt said: 'I feel sad and disappointed, but mostly guilty because I was unable to fulfil my wife's last request, that I deal with her death quickly and arrange her cremation as quickly as possible at her request, because as Susan would say, "You know I do not like the cold".

This would have been her worst nightmare what happened to her, she did not like the idea of lying there or being retained at the premises as she was.

'I am emotional giving this statement, it upsets me to think about this.'

Tony Munro Died aged 65, November 8, 2023. Body recovered from Legacy, March 2024

Tony Munro is pictured. His body was left in the premises. His daughter said: 'We've been to hell and back'

A week before Tony Munro's funeral, his twin brother went to see him, and found him lying on a table on a white sheet rather than in a coffin.

Mr Munro's daughter Jade Munro told the court: 'It angers me that there are no regulations in the funeral business. It is so expensive to pay for a funeral.

'It is clear that such a lucrative business should have checks and balances and I just don't understand why there isn't and this situation is allowed to happen.'

Terence Buck Died aged 75, October 20, 2023. Body recovered from Legacy, March 2024

Terence Buck's (pictured) body was found on the premises. His 'ashes' were given to family but when police raided the parlour they found a bag of ashes labelled in his name

Around a week after Mr Buck's funeral in November 2023, ashes were delivered to his daughter Sarah Gray by an unknown male employee in a personalised Liverpool Football Club burgundy box, which the family had bought.

Believing that these were her father's ashes, she kept them at home until the police visited to tell her that his body was still at the funeral home.

Ms Gray's statement read: 'It's heartbreaking to know the ashes we had cared for at our house for weren't my dad.

'I feel for the person whose ashes they are and the family of whoever they belong to, as they don't have their loved one with them either.'

Bodies left to rot and ashes given to strangers by chamber of horrors undertaker

By Glen Keogh, Special Correspondent

The funeral director who secretly stockpiled dead bodies and gave bereaved families the ashes of strangers breached trust 'on an almost industrial scale', a court heard yesterday.

Robert Bush, 47, is being sentenced after admitting 67 offences related to preventing the lawful and decent burial of 30 bodies and defrauding grieving families who trusted him with the funerals of their loved ones.

The hearing is scheduled to last until Friday because of the sheer scale of his criminality, as the court began to hear from some of the 226 known victims of Bush's offending.

In distressing details that at times drew gasps or tears from family members, prosecutor Chris Paxton KC described the scene that greeted police officers who raided Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in March 2024.

Items with sentimental value donated by families to be buried or cremated with relatives, such as wedding rings and teddies, were discarded on the floor of the premises in Hull and there was evidence of 'human putrefaction'.

Officers found bodies 'stored on racks... uncovered and in varying states of decomposition', Hull Crown Court was told. There was also a naked body lying on a stretcher on the floor.

Funeral director Robert Bush arrives at Hull Crown Court, Kingston-upon-Hull, for sentencing after human remains were found at his premises

Police guard the Beckside branch of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors on March 12, 2024 in Hull

A mother (pictured) whose stillborn baby was discovered in a Hull undertakers almost two years after his funeral says she is trying to forgive the man responsible

Appallingly, one officer discovered the body of a human foetus in a brown 'envelope' which they said resembled a 'police evidence bag'.

The court heard that Bush 'operated within the heart of the community for around 14 years, entrusted by hundreds of bereaved families, in their time of need, to treat their loved ones with dignity. And yet over almost 12 of those years, Mr Bush breached that trust on an almost industrial scale in a myriad of ways'.

Mr Paxton said Bush also sold funeral plans when he was not authorised to do so, failed to bury or cremate loved ones and 'raised expectations, made false promises and stole cash donations intended for local and national charities'. Between March 2017 and April 2024, more than £3million was paid into Bush's business and personal accounts, however this did not reflect the turnover reported to HMRC.

There was also an element of 'profligate personal spending', with almost £900,000 paid to his wife, Vikki, while Bush enjoyed holidays in the United States to watch motorcycle racing.

Mr Paxton said the financial situation within the business was 'not dire, but likely mismanaged'. Bush claimed to police that he had been struggling with 'cash flow issues' and planned to 'clear the cremation backlog' within three months.

The true number of Bush's victims may never be known, as the charges relating to preventing lawful burial only spanned 2023 until the police raid in 2024 – but he was in operation for 15 years.

The scandal emerged when his own employee, Patrick Moore, told two workers from a separate funeral firm that there were 29 bodies at the premises and some bodies 'have been there for years'.

He likened the refrigerated room at the parlour to a 'horror scene'.

Mr Moore reluctantly – fearing 'repercussions' from Bush – then let the men into the funeral home when Bush was on holiday in America, despite having been told by his boss 'not to bring anyone back to Legacy or help put a body in the fridge area'. They were so shocked by what they discovered, they flagged down a passing police car.

A specialist disaster zone team was later sent in to retrieve the bodies. Mr Paxton said: 'The area was dirty and unkempt. There were a number of items on the floor which appeared to have been dropped or swept to the back. These items included flowers, rings, teddies, and cards with messages.

'These items were clearly personal possessions that loved ones would have wanted to stay with their deceased family members.'

Bush was arrested at Heathrow as his plane landed from Arizona. He told officers: 'I've f* it all up, everything, my whole world.'

In a later interview, when asked if human ashes had been provided to families of persons who had yet to be cremated, he answered: 'No comment.'

As victims of Bush's offending read statements yesterday, outlining how they had been affected, other families lent their support, offering tissues and comfort.

Mark Hotham died in September 2023, aged 87. He weighed 19st at the time of his death but at his funeral that month, the driver of the hearse managed to lift the coffin on to the trolley on his own, the court heard.

His carer, Debbie Keeting, who called him 'grandad', believed he wasn't in the coffin and demanded to see inside but was eventually calmed by relatives.

His body was discovered in Legacy six months later.

Muriel Winning died aged 61 on July 22, 2023. The following month, her son, Byron Lill, attended Legacy to retrieve what he thought were his mother's ashes. Her body was recovered from Legacy in March 2024, seven months after her death.

In his statement, Mr Lill said: 'I work close to the Legacy premises on Hessle Road and drive past it every day.

'Knowing now that mum was laying inside for almost eight months destroys me. I was physically so close to her. Knowing she was still laying there when Bush smiled and handed me a box he said were her ashes, when she was still only a matter of feet from me, I just can't accept.'

Graham Finn died at the age of 76 on December 9, 2023 at Hull Royal Infirmary.

A charitable collection was organised for his funeral later that month with the proceeds to go to Ward 5 at the hospital.

His daughter, Tracy, asked Bush if she should take the donations to the infirmary herself, but he said that his wife was responsible for the financial side of the business and she would arrange it.

The hospital confirmed no donation was ever made – with Bush instead pocketing the cash.

The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, is due to sentence Bush on Friday. Bush, who was remanded into custody yesterday, has already been warned that a prison term is 'inevitable'.

The hearing continues.