Gosport funeral directors’ ‘unduly lenient’ prison sentence referred to Court of Appeal
Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, who ran Elkin and Bell Funerals were convicted of public nuisance, preventing the decent burial of a body and fraud offences
The prison sentences of two funeral directors who were jailed for four years for storing bodies in unrefrigerated conditions have been referred by the solicitor general to the Court of Appeal over concerns they were unduly lenient.
Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, who ran Elkin and Bell Funerals in Gosport, Hampshire, were convicted of public nuisance, preventing the decent burial of a body and fraud offences following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.
After Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage wrote to Ellie Reeves expressing the feelings of the families involved that the sentence was not severe enough, the solicitor general has confirmed that the case will go to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.
In a letter to the Conservative MP, Ms Reeves wrote: “I share your concerns about the sentence imposed, which I have now reviewed.
“Under the ULS scheme, I can only properly refer a case to the Court of Appeal if I consider that the sentence appears not just lenient, but unduly lenient.
“After careful consideration I have decided to refer this case to the Court of Appeal as it appears to me that this test is met.”
Posting on Facebook, Ms Dinenage said: “The families impacted by this case believe that the original sentence was unduly lenient and I look forward to the outcome of the case.”
Statements from 13 family members of loved ones who were in the care of Elkin and Bell were read to the court, with some saying the uncertainty of how they were treated in death would haunt them forever.
The court heard details of some loved ones covered in maggots, shedding skin and lying in their own fluids as they were decomposing, kept in unrefrigerated conditions.
During the trial, the court heard the bodies of two elderly men were found by High Court enforcement agents who had been tasked with repossessing the premises because of unpaid rent and debts.
The case, along with the case of Hull funeral director Robert Bush, has prompted calls for urgent regulation of the funeral sector, including from bereaved families, police bosses and an industry body.
Police found 35 bodies and more than 100 sets of ashes when they raided Legacy Independent Funeral Directors’ in Hull in March 2024.
Bush pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court to 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial over 30 of the bodies – one of which had been there for a year.
The 48-year-old, who also pleaded guilty to theft from 12 charities including the Salvation Army and Macmillan Cancer Support, will be sentenced in July.