How legal 'loophole' meant that funeral director could keep body of baby in living room 'watching cartoons'
The actions of a funeral director who allegedly took the bodies of deceased babies home with her may have gone unnoticed because of a legal 'loophole'.
Grief-stricken parents have claimed that they were left 'screaming' in horror after allegedly finding their dead child propped up in a bouncer in Amie Upton's living room, according to the BBC.
The 38-year-old, who runs funeral service Florrie's Army, was banned from mortuaries and maternity wards managed by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust earlier this year.
Upton claims she only received two complaints in her firm's eight years of operation, but several bereaved parents have now spoken out with claims about how their late children were cared for by her.
Advert
One mum, 32-year-old Zoe Ward, claimed that she presumed her dead son Bleu would be kept in a 'professional setting' - but she was left 'terrified' when she saw what was really going on.
She alleges that she discovered the three-week-old, who died of brain damage at Leeds General Infirmary in 2021, in Upton's living room 'watching cartoons'.
Ward told the BBC: "I realised it were Bleu and she [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."
She described Upton's home as 'mucky' and 'dirty', adding: "I didn't want him in that house."
A couple shared a similar unsettling tale about their experience using Florrie's Army following the stillbirth of their daughter.
They claim that it was agreed their baby's body would be taken to a funeral parlour in Headingley until she was buried - but Upton allegedly told them the infant was at her house instead.
"I just didn't know why she was there," the woman said, before going on to allege her daughter was also kept at an incorrect temperature so there was a prominent 'smell'.
Another relative said of the bizarre incident: "It was just crazy. If I told somebody of this story... they'd think it was a horror film."
It is thought that Upton's alleged misconduct was able to fly under the radar due to the lack of regulation in the UK funeral industry.
For starts, people do not need any formal qualifications to become a funeral director, while there are also no legal requirements about how and where bodies should be stored.
The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), the industry's two main trade organisations, do have a joint code of conduct.
It states that the premises and procedures of members must be regularly vetted, while outlining the best practices which they recommend following - for example, keeping bodies in a clean and clinical environment, between 4-7°C.
However, membership is voluntary and according to the BBC, Upton was not a member of either.
Funeral director George Roberts, from SAIF, said it was 'wrong' that no qualifications are needed to pursue his line of work, adding that families need to know they were 'in safe hands'.
"[Anyone] could easily go online, design business cards, get them printed and put them through neighbour's doors and sit back and wait for the phone to ring," he said.
In response to the BBC's investigation into Upton, a government spokesperson said Downing Street is 'committed to taking action to ensure the highest standards are always met by funeral directors'.
The statement added that ministers 'are now considering the full range of options to improve standards', while saying that the parents involved in the Upton case 'rightly expected their children to be treated with dignity and respect'.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust said it had received 'several serious concerns' about Upton's conduct over the last few years and that these had been shared with police, external safeguarding services, relevant regulators and the coroner's office, while they also 'implemented extra steps in our mortuary services'.
It said: "Since 2021 we have had specific safeguarding measures in place, including monitoring [Ms Upton's] attendance when visiting deceased patients at the mortuary in her funeral service role."
West Yorkshire Police also 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."
Olivia Burke