163 families contacted after ashes of loved ones left unidentifiable by funeral director

Police have started to contact 163 families after ashes were left unidentifiable by a funeral director in Hull. Humberside Police received a report on March 6 about the storage and management processes at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors and cordons were put in place at the company's three sites.

A total of 35 bodies were discovered from the Hessle Road branch, along with a quantity of ashes. Subsequently, a 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position. They have since been released on bail.

In April Humberside Police confirmed they would not be able to individually identify the ashes and are now making contact with the families concerned. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.

READ MORE: The beautiful part of Wales that could change its mind for the first time in decades

READ MORE: The huge number of teachers and other school staff made redundant in Wales

Speaking at a press conference at the time, Assistant Chief Constable Thom McLoughlin said that that although the cremation was carried out properly, it would be impossible to recover the DNA due to the high temperature of the cremation process.

He added: "Whilst the expert opinion provides us with assurance that the proper cremation process had been followed, unfortunately, given the high temperature required to carry out a cremation, the DNA will have been broken down and degraded to such a level that we would not able to recover a meaningful DNA profile."

Since then, more enquires have been undertaken and work has been carried out using documentation found with individual ashes and at the premise, to potentially identify and locate next of kins. 163 families have now been contacted as a result.

Assistant Chief Constable Thom McLoughlin said: "Over the last two weeks, my officers have been making contact with the families identified as part of the investigation. This has been to provide an update as to the ashes recovered and to also arrange personal meetings with them, to offer further support and discuss in detail the process that has taken place and the options available to them."

"We have waited to provide this update publicly until initial contact could be made, as understandably the families are our priority and the information is personal and private to them. The meetings began last week and will take time to complete, with both my officers and support staff from Hull City Council and East Riding Council in attendance, to offer care and assistance to families."

"Some families may want to receive the ashes, and others may not, there is no right or wrong answer and the impact and affect it will have will differ for each individual family, but it should not be underestimated and we will do all we can to support those throughout what is an incredibly difficult time."

"If you have not received a call from us in regards to the ashes recovered, but you have concerns or feel impacted by any element of the ongoing investigation, support is available via Victim Support's 24-hour independent helpline on 0808 281 1136, and I would you encourage to please get in touch."

"Again, as always, I want to thank the families and everyone in our communities for their understanding as we continue this complex investigation, and we will endeavour to provide answers and updates as and when we are able to."