Norman Bridger was 94 when he died and was left in the care of Robert Bush by his heartbroken family
Norman Bridger
On Friday, July 31 2026, Hull funeral director Robert Bush was jailed for 20 years.
The 48-year-old left bodies to decompose at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors’ premises in the city, gave bereaved families the ashes of other people and stole money donated from collections at funerals.The “horror” and revulsion felt by the families who had lost loved ones was revealed at Hull Crown Court during a series of powerful and harrowing victim statements during the first four days of the five-day sentencing hearing.
Over the coming weeks, we will be publishing those statements – from families who had cruelly been taken advantage of when they were at their most vulnerable. Their stories need to be told, and we will ensure that they are, for as long as it takes.
My dad is Norman Bridger. He was 94 years old when he died in April 2023.
I heard about the investigation into Legacy on the news and initially rang the police just to add my complaint about how Dad was still wearing the grey T-shirt he had passed away in when Mum and I viewed his body at Legacy. I never appreciated just what would happen next.
I felt grateful to Dad that he had arranged a funeral plan so we didn’t have to worry about payment, but even this would be a lie. Dad took out funeral plans for himself and my mum.
He wanted to ensure that they were both paid for in advance so we wouldn’t need to worry about finding the money when the time came. I feel so cheated for him. Bush just took advantage of him, keeping the money for himself. Mum and Dad were not rich people and they had done what they could to make things easier for us. We will now have to find the money for Mum’s funeral which is absolutely not what either of them would have wanted.
I feel that Bush took advantage of my vulnerability and pushed me towards a funeral at Hessle Road which suited his plans rather than what we would have really wanted for Dad. I really struggle with knowing that Dad was wearing the grey T-shirt. It just shows to me that Bush did not care for him or respect him as he promised he would. 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. My partner, David and I broke down in tears. How could someone be so cruel? Why would he just leave him there?
The time it took for Dad’s identification to be confirmed just prolonged the agony. It has been a dreadful time for me, my husband and my daughter.
I collected what I thought were Dad’s ashes around 3 weeks after his funeral. I put some of them in a special locket for me and Mum that we both wore around our necks. It felt important to us both to have Dad still close to us. I now feel violated that I have had some unknown person’s ashes so close to me.
I gave Robert Bush a bottle of port to thank him for taking care of Dad. The smile on his face as he accepted will always haunt me.
Karen Eileen King