Heather Welford described Robert Bush as ‘a total con man and a bare-faced liar’
Floral tributes outside Legacy Independent Funeral Directors (Image: Donna Clifford/HullLive)
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.
Following the passing of our beloved mother, her last wishes were that her ashes would be scattered with her son, my late brother, in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica was a special place as she visited her sons there and spent time with them. My brother Stephen resided in Santa Monica before he sadly passed at the age of 38.
I have four brothers, all of which reside abroad in different countries. It was my mother’s wish that we all got together to scatter her ashes.
She had a grand plan that we would all go to her favourite places in America all together and then end her final journey at Rose Garden in Santa Monica with us all there and lay her to rest with Stephen. My brother who resides in Holland had booked his flight to America to be with us all at the scattering of our mothers ashes. He was shocked and angry at the news and the matter is still very raw.
I feel totally shattered at the fact that my mother and we as a family have been robbed of fulfilling my mother’s last wishes and this is something we will never get back or ever be able to do. Mr Bush came across professional and so helpful. He was so nice and quite charming.
I just cannot get my head around that someone in such a trusted position could be so cruel and deceitful. We were provided with ashes that didn’t belong to us and we have not been reunited with the correct ashes of my mother.
This sickens me to the core, and I cannot put into words the impact this has had on us as family. She was a good woman and totally deserved respect and to be treated with dignity in her passing. It is all still raw, and we all still find it hard to comprehend, but we are trying to deal with it the best we can. The memory of this will never go away.
I feel guilty that it was me that arranged the funeral and it was my decision to use Legacy. He came across so genuine and I believed every word he said. I trusted him to carry out all our expectations and wishes and had no reason to disbelieve him. He was a total con man and a bare faced liar.
A funeral director is dealing with families at their most vulnerable during the grieving period after losing a loved one. A funeral director is trusted to do what we all think they should do and you don’t think to question them.
At the time of arranging a funeral you go through the motions and put your complete trust in them. There are no words to describe the impact he must have had on everyone involved.
Heather Welford