A grandmother was found crushed to death under a scissor lift in a Norfolk funeral parlour, an inquest has heard. Sally Blundell, 58, was discovered at the East of England Co-op Funeral Services branch in Swaffham on December 1 2023, after a grieving family raised concerns when no staff were present for their appointment.
The inquest at Norwich heard that Ms Blundell had been working alone when the hydraulic lift, used to move caskets from a fridge in the mortuary, fell on her. Police officer Luke Heffer said she was found 'trapped in the scissor lift', lying across a bar with the upper part of her body inside the frame.
Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake recorded the medical cause of death as 'contusion and compression of the chest by an external object'. Dawn Salisbury, who had an 11am appointment to see a deceased relative, became concerned after waiting 10 minutes and called the branch landline, hearing no ringing inside.
Stephen Kemp, a funeral manager from the Dereham branch, asked security to remotely check CCTV at Swaffham. He saw Ms Blundell's car in the car park but no sign of her. He went to the branch and discovered her dead, with the hoist 'crushing her over the chest area'.
Ms Blundell's daughter, Lucy Blundell, said in a statement: 'I understand she had raised concerns about lone working.' The coroner noted Ms Blundell was last seen on CCTV at 9.46am, walking away after taking a work call. No CCTV covers sensitive areas where bodies are kept.
