Jailed Hull undertaker lodges bid to appeal against sentence

Victims of the Legacy funeral scandal say it is an "insult" Hull undertaker Robert Bush has lodged an application to appeal against his 20-year prison sentence. Bush, 48, admitted keeping 30 bodies after their funerals, presenting families with the ashes of strangers and selling fake funeral plans.

Humberside Police said it had been notified by the Criminal Appeal Office at the Royal Courts of Justice and added "any decision regarding the appeal will be a matter for the courts". Prosecutors said he ran a "shambolic and chaotic" funeral business at premises on Hessle Road in Hull and his "appalling" offending had caused "extreme emotional pain, anguish and upset".

Natalie Smith's grandfather, Norman Bridger, was one of 35 bodies found by police at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull in March 2024. His family had held a funeral and said their goodbyes but later discovered he had been in Bush's unrefrigerated premises for 11 months.