Susan Stone’s grandson feels nothing but hatred for a man ‘who claimed to treat loved ones with dignity and respect’
Susan Stone
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.
I am the grandson of Susan Stone. I am Armed Forces personnel and, as such, deal with traumatic events in a controlled and pragmatic way.
I wish to give my thoughts on what has happened and explain how the Legacy case has affected my family over the last 15 months. My grandad, Eric, Susan’s husband of many years, passed away on 15th May, aged 91.
He had not been the same man since my nana died and the news that her body had been discovered at Legacy after her cremation had meant to have taken place destroyed him completely. My dad, Martin, mentioned at the ceremony that something wasn’t right with the coffin.
It looked battered and second hand. He couldn’t get over thinking about whether she was actually inside it throughout or not. The second funeral organisation and police contact fell to me. I was trying to keep everything together for my dad and grandad. It was hard but I am immensely proud of how I handled everything.
I’ve learned not to blame myself for the choice of funeral director for my nana but I have taken from it that the cheaper option isn’t always the best and to make sure that I get all of the documentation prior to committing to any contracts. I’m sad that we lost the ashes of nana’s dogs which we’d passed to Rob Bush to have cremated with her.
I am eternally grateful that we have our nana and grandad back together again and that I can say with certainty that their ashes are their own. That’s not something I ever thought I’d need to say and will actively support any change in legislation to govern the running of funeral practice.
I need closure and don’t feel I can achieve that until the court case has concluded and Bush has gone to prison. I feel nothing but hatred for a man who claimed to treat loved ones with dignity and respect but know that I can’t dwell on that feeling or it will eat me up inside.
Callum Stone