LEEDS FUNERAL DIRECTOR KEPT BABIES’ BODIES AT HOME
A funeral director named Amie Upton, aged 38, who stored infants’ remains at her residence, has been prohibited from working in NHS maternity units and mortuaries in Leeds.Zoe Ward, the mother of a deceased infant, reported observing Ms Upton engaged in watching cartoons alongside her son’s body placed in a baby bouncer, with another infant’s body nearby on the sofa.
Ms Ward described the conditions as ‘mucky and dirty,’ and was shocked to see her son Bleu, who passed away due to brain damage in 2021, under such circumstances.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust had previously barred Ms Upton from its mortuaries and wards earlier this year after raising concerns.
Although Ms Upton claims to have received only two complaints over her eight-year tenure with Florrie’s Army, an investigation by the BBC revealed that babies’ bodies under her care were occasionally not stored at proper temperatures, often not kept in cold cots, and were held in environments that lacked appropriate hygiene standards.
West Yorkshire Police carried out thorough investigations but stated that ‘no potential crimes were identified.’
