A Norfolk undertaker died after being crushed by a faulty coffin-lifting machine at a funeral parlour, an inquest has concluded. Sally Blundell, 58, was found trapped beneath the scissor lift of a mortuary trolley at the East of England Co-op Funeral Services branch in Swaffham on 1 December 2023.
Ms Blundell had been working alone when the incident occurred. A member of the public arrived for an 11am appointment to see a deceased relative but found no staff present. After calls to the celebrant went unanswered, a colleague from the Dereham branch discovered Ms Blundell dead at 12.06pm.
Norwich Coroner's Court heard that CCTV showed Ms Blundell last alive at 9.46am, but there were no cameras in sensitive areas where bodies were kept. The medical cause of death was recorded as compression of the chest. The coroner noted a fault with the hydraulic scissor lift, which had descended unexpectedly, and is considering a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the manufacturer, A R Twigg and Son.
The East of England Co-op confirmed it no longer uses this type of trolley. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
