Legacy funeral home boss Robert Bush jailed for 20 years

Following sentencing, Det Sup Al Curtis, of Humberside Police, said it was “just impossible” to put a number on how many people had been affected by Bush’s actions.

“The distress and heartbreak that this investigation has caused for families is simply unimaginable, and even after working on this case rigorously over the last couple of years, the sheer impact this has had on our whole community, and further afield, remains unprecedented,” he said.

He described it as the “biggest and most complex investigation” in the force’s history, with 300 affected victims and the seizure of “3,000 exhibits and 12,000 items of disclosure”.

Outside court, Karen Dry, who used Legacy’s services for her parents’ funerals in 2016 and 2018, called for a public inquiry, adding the funeral industry was “currently in desperate need of strict regulation”.

Currently, the funeral industry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is self-regulating, relying on voluntary codes and inspections by trade associations.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he wanted to ensure “the highest standards” applied to the sector.

He said: “This needs a proper response in terms of the regulation needed, to make sure no family goes through that again.

“People, I think, would assume that the highest standards apply to this area and we’ve got to make sure that they do apply and that there can’t be any repeat of what we’ve seen.”