'Vandals' strike funeral parlour at centre of police probe over improper care ... trends now
Suspected vandals have struck a funeral parlour at the centre of a police probe over improper care for the dead.
Flower boxes fixed to the front of one of three branches of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, East Yorkshire, were kicked off, leaving soil strewn across the pavement.
The vandalism took place in the past two days, according to neighbouring businesses.
Pictures taken at the Anlaby Road branch of the funeral company show four damaged flower baskets, with two lying on the ground. Police officers guarding the scene suggested that the vandalism was recently done.
One business owner, who asked not to be named, said: 'They had been kicked off when I came to work on Monday morning. The police swept up most of it.
'Tensions are really high over this, so it might be someone who wants to make a point. But it could just be kids - it wouldn't be the first time that they've been kicked off.'
Officers have been investigating Legacy Independent Funeral Directors, which has two branches in Hull and one in Beverley, since last Wednesday after reports of 'concern for care of the deceased'.
Vandals have hit a funeral parlour at the centre of a police probe over improper care for the dead
Pictures taken at the Anlaby Road branch of the funeral company show four damaged flower baskets, with two lying on the ground
The vandalism took place in the past two days, according to neighbouring businesses
Police stand guard outside Legacy Funeral Directors on Anlaby Road in Hull
On Sunday, Humberside Police said 34 bodies were removed from its Hessle Road branch and two people had been arrested in connection with the case.
At the company's Beverley branch, branding for Legacy was removed. Pictures taken this morning show branding for the previous occupier, Time & Motion, which closed in 2018 and is unconnected to Legacy.
Officers have continued the focus of their inquiries on a Legacy branch in Hessle Road, Hull. Today, forensic investigators dressed in white protective suits were seen entering the parlour.
It comes as mourners came forward to say they feared their deceased family members were not in the coffins - or that they received the wrong ashes.
Billie Jo Suffill, 33, fears she may have kissed her father's empty coffin after the funeral directors used by her family came under investigation.
The mother-of-three used the firm for the cremations of both her father and brother, who tragically died five days apart in 2022.
Rob Bush (left) who runs the funeral directors is pictured with his daughter Saskya who is an employee
Police patrolling outside the Beckside branch of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull on March 9
Police conducted a raid and removed 34 bodies after concerns were raised about the conduct of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull
She said her tearful farewell to her father Andy Suffill when his life was cut tragically short at the age of 52 on July 9 two years ago.
In a tragic twist, his son Dwane - Miss Suffill's brother - took his life five days later on July 14 after finding his father's body. Dwane had suffered from mental health problems after losing his mother around seven years prior.
Speaking about her father's death, Miss Suffill said: 'I never actually got to see my dad's body. I wanted to see him dressed in his new clothes but I never got to.'
She added: 'I bet my dad was not even in the coffin - it was an empty coffin. I was kissing an empty coffin. When I think about it now it is disgusting.'
Mother-of-three Billie Jo Suffill is pictured kissing her father's coffin. She now fears the coffin was empty
Billie Jo Suffill, 33, is pictured with her father who died in 2022. Her brother died five days after
Mr Suffill died after he was attacked by two men the night before and took some tablets in the house he shared with his Dwane.
Dwane went down to check on his father and found him dead.
He was overcome with grief and took an overdose five days later. An inquest concluded it was suicide.
Miss Suffill said: 'I got ashes after my brother's funeral. But now I don't even know if they are his ashes and I never got any from my
