Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell were sentenced to four years in prison earlier this year.

The government must act quickly to stop the “betrayals” of rogue funeral directors.

That is the message from a cremation firm that is backing growing pressure to regulate the funeral industry, after multiple funeral directors have faced convictions this year- chief among them being a Gosport pair who left bodies decomposing in their mortuary.

A 50-strong group of cross-party MPs is calling for an urgent crackdown on the industry, following the jailing of Elkin and Bell, and more recently Robert Bush, in Hull. As previously reported by The News, Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell ran Elkin and Bell Funerals in Nobes Avenue, Gosport, before it was shut on December, 10, 2023.

Richard Elkin, 49, and his partner Hayley Bell, aged 42, have been jailed for four years concurrent. | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

placeholder image — Richard Elkin, 49, and his partner Hayley Bell, aged 42, have been jailed for four years concurrent. | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

Used coffins, broken windows and a lack of refrigeration was found at the premises. It was also found that Elkin and Bell had forged its certificate of funeral directing, had received a number of county court judgements and was in debt. In February this year, the pair were sentenced to four years in prison, and disqualified from acting as directors for any company for a period of seven years.

In the aftermath of the duo’s offences, Celebration of Life, a national cremation firm, is now also calling for tighter industry regulations.

Head of operations, Peter Shuttleworth, said: “Similar regulation of the funeral plan sector was introduced four years ago and that has worked extremely well. It did mean that many providers were forced to cease selling plans, but the most important thing is that not only do consumers have full protection when taking out a plan but their confidence is restored knowing that as long as they are buying from a provider authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority every penny of their money is protected.

Peter Shuttleworth, head of operations at Celebration of Life. | Century PR

“Similar regulation is needed for the funeral sector and it is needed now.

“We would urge those MPs who have already spoken out to keep the pressure on the government and to continue pushing for action. We would also encourage other MPs who support better protection for bereaved families to come forward and add their voices.

“Regulation from the top down is the best way to demonstrate to customers that they are receiving the service they pay for, at a standard they would expect, and if for any reason the service does fall short of the standard they expect they are fully protected with regulation on their side.”

The state of the mortuary at Elkin & Bell Funeral Directors in Gosport | Hampshire Police

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage has been particularly outspoken about supporting statutory minimum standards in the funeral sector. She said: “I welcome the government’s commitment to stronger oversight and proper regulation of this opaque sector. The majority of funeral directors operate with impeccable professionalism, but when it goes wrong, as with Elkin and Bell, it results in a catastrophic lack of trust in the sector.

“I will be pushing the government to bring forward its proposals as quickly as possible.”

Speaking after Elkin and Bell were jailed, Assistant Chief Constable Tony Rowlinson said: “Elkin and Bell completely shattered the trust of those who turned to them whilst they were grieving. This is one of the worst betrayals I have ever seen in my policing career.”