A funeral director has been banned from NHS maternity wards and mortuaries in Leeds after a mother discovered her dead baby propped up watching cartoons in the woman's home. Amie Upton, 38, who runs the baby loss support and funeral service Florrie's Army, was barred by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in spring this year following several serious concerns.
Zoe Ward, whose son Bleu died of brain damage at three weeks old in 2021, said she thought the service sounded 'brilliant' initially. However, when she visited Upton's home expecting a professional setting, she found her son's body in a baby bouncer in the living room, 'watching' the cartoon PJ Masks. Another dead baby was on the sofa, and the room was dirty. Ward described the experience as 'weird' and said she was left upset and angry.
Another couple was led to believe their baby was being kept at a funeral home in Headingley, but more than a week later were told their daughter was at Upton's home five miles away. The woman said her child's body had not been kept at the correct temperature and was 'really smelly'. The grandmother of another baby compared the situation to a horror film.
Upton told the BBC she had only ever had two complaints, but declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian. The trust said it had been monitoring Upton's attendance at Leeds's two major hospitals since 2021 and had safeguarding measures in place. Chief nurse Rabina Tindale emphasised that neither Upton nor Florrie's Army is endorsed by or associated with the trust.
In England and Wales, there are no regulations governing funeral homes, including how bodies should be handled or stored. Membership in professional associations with codes of conduct is not compulsory.
