April 2, 2026
Chris Paxton KC and Steven Ball have prosecuted Hull funeral director Robert Bush who has pleaded guilty to a total of 67 charges, including 30 counts of preventing a lawful burial and fraudulent trading.
Robert Bush pleaded guilty today (2 April) at Hull Crown Court to charges related to preventing the lawful burial of 30 bodies which had been found at his premises. He also pleaded guilty to theft from a number of charities where donations had been made in memory of loved ones which included Macmillan Cancer Support, The Salvation Army, RNLI and Help for Heroes.
Today’s pleas are in addition to his earlier guilty pleas on October 15, 2025 to 36 counts of fraud including 35 counts of fraud by false representation relating to the presentation of ashes and 1 count of fraudulent trading relating to over £500,000 worth of funeral plans. The fraud charges included handing unidentified ashes to the parents of four babies who died before birth.
The case ranks among the most extensive and serious ever seen against a funeral director in England and Wales distinguished by a decade of offending and an unprecedented volume of charges.
Christopher Paxton KC and Steven Ball were instructed by Stephen Abigail of the Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate, CPS
Christopher Paxton KC is an accomplished Silk, frequently instructed in complex and high-profile crime cases on both sides of the courtroom. In 2024, he was nominated for Crime and Extradition Silk of the Year at the Legal 500 Bar Awards.
Steven Ball is an experienced criminal practitioner who prosecutes and defends in a wide variety of serious cases from serious and organised crime, fraud and sexual offences both as a leading and a led junior. He is ranked as a leading junior in the 2025 Legal 500 Directory
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