A man and woman have been arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful burial after police removed 34 bodies from a funeral home in Humberside.
Humberside Police made the arrests in connection with an investigation into Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull.
Thom McLoughlin, assistant chief constable, Humberside Police, said: “We can confirm that a man, aged 46 and a woman, aged 23 have been arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position and remain in police custody at this time.
“As part of our investigation, as of today (Sunday 10 March), we can confirm 34 deceased people have now been respectfully transported from Legacy Funeral Directors based on Hessle Road to the mortuary in Hull for formal identification procedures to take place.
“Since the report on Wednesday 6 March, cordons remain in place at all three Legacy Independent Funeral Directors premises.“The dedicated phone line remains open and has received over 350 calls from concerned members of the public since Friday. We continue to encourage anyone who has used Legacy Independent Funeral Directors and has concerns to call us on 0800 051 4674 or 0207 126 7619 if you are calling from abroad.”
He added: “Each call we receive is being carefully handled and delicately assessed by a specialist team to ensure we have a thorough understanding of each family’s circumstances. We will get back to each and every one of you as soon as we can.
“These officers are also working closely with our partners to ensure that families are provided with the most appropriate care and support for their personal circumstances whilst our investigation continues.”
The funeral home was closed on Wednesday after receiving a report over concerns about the “storage and management processes relating to care of the deceased”.
A number of bodies were later removed from the premises.
Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council previously said they were assisting Humberside Police in supporting affected families.
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