Leeds funeral director barred from hospital mortuaries over infant remains

A funeral director who runs a baby loss support group and funeral service has been barred from maternity wards and mortuaries at hospitals in Leeds after allegations that she kept the bodies of infants at her home under inappropriate conditions. The move followed complaints from bereaved families who said their children’s remains were stored at the operator’s house rather than in a professional setting, including one mother who said she found her three week old son sitting in a baby bouncer while cartoons played on television.

The woman at the centre of the allegations runs a small service that offers free handprints, photographs, clothing and dedicated funerals for bereaved parents. She established the group after losing her own daughter in 2017. She has defended her work, saying she set up the service to help families and that she has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. She denied claims that she left babies in unsuitable conditions, saying she has only received two formal complaints in eight years and that she used a laid back chair to transfer infants rather than a bouncer.

Two families described distressing experiences. Zoe Ward said her son Bleu, who died aged three...