Funeral director put my babys body in bouncer in front of TV

Warning: This article contains distressing content

A funeral director has been banned from NHS maternity wards and mortuaries in Leeds after keeping babies bodies at her home, a BBC investigation has revealed.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust said it had barred 38-year-old Amie Upton from its mortuaries and maternity wards in spring this year.

One mother said she had been left "screaming" after discovering her dead son had been put in a baby bouncer "watching cartoons" in Ms Uptons living room.

Ms Upton said she had only ever had two complaints in her eight years of running her baby loss support and funeral service, Florries Army.

Zoe Wards baby, Bleu, was three weeks old when he died of brain damage at Leeds General Infirmary in 2021.

Ms Ward, 32, asked Florries Army to arrange his funeral, after a recommendation from a family friend.

She said she had spoken to Ms Upton and thought the service sounded "brilliant".

Florries Army said it supports bereaved parents, offering free handprints, photographs, baby clothing and a dedicated funeral service.

According to her posts on Facebook, Ms Upton set up the group after her own daughter was stillborn in 2017.

Ms Ward said Bleus body had been picked up from the hospital by someone on behalf of Florries Army.

She said she had thought he would be in a "professional setting".

But when she went round to visit the next day, Ms Ward was "terrified" to see Ms Upton "watching" cartoons with her sons body next to her in a baby bouncer in the living room.

"I realised it were Bleu and she [Ms Upton] says: Come in, were watching PJ Masks.

"Theres a cat scratcher in the corner and I can hear a dog barking and there was another [dead] baby on the sofa. It wasnt a nice sight.

"I rang my mum and Im saying, This aint right… I was screaming down the phone [saying]: Its mucky, its dirty, he cant stay here."

Ms Wards mother then arranged for another funeral director to collect Bleus body and he was removed from Ms Uptons care.

"I didnt want him in that house," Ms Ward said, adding the "weird" experience had left her "upset and angry".

The funeral industry is unregulated in England and Wales. There are no legal requirements about how and where bodies should be stored, and no qualifications are needed to set up as a funeral director.

The two main trade organisations - the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) – have a joint code of conduct, which says members must undergo regular inspections of their premises and procedures.

Best practice suggests bodies should be kept in a clean and clinical environment, between 4-7°C.

However, membership is voluntary and Ms Upton is not a member of either organisation.

Sharon and Paul (not their real names) were introduced to Ms Upton through a family friend after their daughter was stillborn at another Leeds hospital, St James, earlier this year.

They said they had agreed to their daughter being taken by Florries Army, as Ms Upton had led them to believe the body was being kept at a funeral parlour in Headingley until the burial.

But they said more than a week later, Ms Upton had told them their daughter was at her house - five miles away from where they had expected her to be. They said they had not given their consent for her to be taken there.

"I just didnt know why she was there," said Sharon.

The couple do not know how long their daughters body had been at Ms Uptons, but Sharon believes it had not been kept at the correct temperature, saying it was "really smelly, like shed been in there and not kept cool".

The BBC understands Ms Upton has a cold cot - with electrical cooling pads to maintain lower temperatures - which she uses at her home and lends out to families.

However, the BBC has seen evidence indicating that bodies under Ms Uptons care have not always been kept in the cold cot.

Sharon and Paul said as soon as they had realised their baby was in Ms Uptons house, they drove across Leeds to bring her home and transfer her to another funeral director.

Sharons mother said: "It was just crazy. If I told somebody of this story... theyd think it was a horror film."

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust said it only allowed bodies to be signed out of its mortuaries by authorised funeral directors.

Both Ms Ward and Sharon and Pauls babies were signed out by Philip Gallagher of Gallagher Funeral Services, in Headingley – one of the Trusts authorised funeral directors.

Mr Gallagher said he had had a "working relationship" with Ms Upton for five years, including "providing funerals for peoples loved ones that have sadly passed away".

"We are aware that two families have raised concerns about the service she provides; however, it is our understanding that these concerns have been thoroughly investigated," he added.

Mr Gallagher, whose business is not a member of NAFD or SAIF, did not respond to questions about how or why Sharon and Pauls babys body had been moved from his Headingley parlour to Ms Uptons house.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust said it had received "several serious concerns" about Ms Uptons services over the past few years.

It said Florries Army was not endorsed by or associated with its hospitals and it had raised its concerns about Ms Uptons activities with the police, external safeguarding services, relevant regulators and the coroners office.

"When we first became aware of concerns, we implemented extra steps in our mortuary services on top of our already robust measures," it said.

"Since 2021 we have had specific safeguarding measures in place, including monitoring [Ms Uptons] attendance when visiting deceased patients at the mortuary in her funeral service role."

The Trust added it had "strengthened" its actions against Ms Upton earlier this year and she was no longer allowed in their mortuaries, or on their maternity wards "unless as a patient herself".

West Yorkshire Police confirmed it had investigated two reports about Ms Uptons funeral service since 2021, but said after "extensive enquiries... no potential crimes were identified".

A spokesperson added: "We recognise the concerns raised by these two families will have added to the distress they felt during an already incredibly difficult time. Our thoughts remain with them."

The BBC asked Ms Upton to respond to claims her home was an unsuitable place to keep babies bodies, including why pets were allowed near the bodies, and asked for confirmation as to whether she had moved bodies from Mr Gallaghers funeral parlour without parents consent.

Ms Upton did not respond to the claims but said she had only had two complaints in the eight years since she set up Florries Army.

Many reviews of her services on Facebook are positive, with some families describing the service as "amazing" and "inspirational".

Funeral director George Roberts, from SAIF, said bereaved families deserved a professional service and needed to know they were in "safe hands".

Mr Roberts, whose family has been in the business in Scarborough for 40 years, said it was "wrong" that funeral directors did not need to be qualified.

"[Anyone] could easily go online, design business cards, get them printed and put them through neighbours doors and sit back and wait for the phone to ring," he said.

A statutory code of conduct for funeral directors was introduced in Scotland in March.

The government is yet to respond to a recommendation given by an inquiry in July, which said it should introduce statutory regulations in England.

But in response to our findings, a government spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the grieving families affected by this awful situation. They rightly expected their children to be treated with dignity and respect.

"We are committed to taking action to ensure the highest standards are always met by funeral directors and are now considering the full range of options to improve standards."