Funeral director who kept body of baby 'watching cartoons' in living room says she did nothing wrong
Warning: This article contains discussion of baby loss which some readers may find distressing.
The UK funeral director who was accused of keeping the body of a baby in her living room 'watching cartoons' has claimed she did nothing wrong.
Zoe Ward lost her son Bleu when he was just three weeks old, and she later contacted the organisation Florrie's Army, run by 38-year-old Amie Upton, to arrange for his funeral.
However, she was devastated when she found Bleu and another deceased infant on the sofa in Upton's home, where they had allegedly been left to watch cartoons.
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Zoe told the BBC: "I realised it [was] Bleu and [Upton] says: 'Come in, we're watching PJ Masks.'
"There's a cat scratcher in the corner and I can hear a dog barking and there was another [dead] baby on the sofa. It wasn't a nice sight.
"I rang my mum and I'm saying, 'This ain't right'… I was screaming down the phone [saying]: 'It's mucky, it's dirty, he can't stay here'."
After the horror sight was reported, Upton was subsequently banned from NHS maternity wards and mortuaries in Leeds, but she continues to claim that she did 'nothing wrong'.
She said: "They were always clean and tidy and were not deteriorating or smelly as claimed on posts I’ve seen today…We had refrigerating units up there and cold cots. The babies here were not put in a fridge when staff go home but I was here all the time.
"Their babies knew nothing but love. You don’t find nurses reading their babies a story. I would. I know I only ever did my best. It is ridiculous."
While a 'legal loophole' has seemingly meant that Upton can get away with providing this sort of care for the deceased through her company, this isn't the first time she has faced backlash.
West Yorkshire Police told LADbible that two incidents were reported in 2021 and in both cases, 'no potential crimes were identified'.
"Since 2021, we have received two reports alleging improper care provided by an infant funeral service in Harehills, Leeds," the force said.
"Detectives made extensive enquiries into both reports, exploring multiple legislative and regulatory avenues, including liaison with partners, to establish whether there were any criminal matters to investigate.
"No potential crimes were identified. We recognise the concerns raised by these two families will have added to the distress they felt during an already incredibly difficult time. Our thoughts remain with them."
The funeral director claims that she has only ever had two complaints in her eight years of running Florrie’s Army, her baby loss support and funeral service, although another couple came forward to describe their experience with her as something out of a 'horror film'.
Upton refused to comment when approached by LADbible.
James Moorhouse