Sally Blundell, 58, was found dead at the East of England Co-op Funeral Services branch in Swaffham, Norfolk on December 1 2023, with the inquest hearing she had raised concerns about lone working
Emma O’Neill Content Editor and Sam Russell Press Association
15:27, 23 Mar 2026Updated 15:27, 23 Mar 2026
(Image: East of England Co-op Funeral Services)
An undertaker was found crushed to death by a piece of equipment used to move bodies from a fridge in the back room of a funeral parlour, an inquest heard.
Funeral administrator Sally Blundell, 58, had been working alone at the East of England Co-op Funeral Services branch in Swaffham, Norfolk on 1 December 2023. The grandmother was discovered by a colleague from another branch, who had arrived after concerns were raised by a family who had a pre-arranged appointment at the funeral parlour but found no staff there.
Stephen Kemp, who works in the Dereham branch, called emergency services. Police officer Luke Heffer said he went through the chapel of rest to a back room at the funeral parlour.
He said there was a large fridge in the room and a “scissor lift” that was “used to lift caskets in and out of the fridge”. He said that Mrs Blundell was “found trapped in the scissor lift”, lying across a bar and with the upper part of her body inside the frame.
Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake said Mrs Blundell’s medical cause of death was recorded as “contusion and compression of the chest by an external object”. Dawn Salisbury, who had made arrangements to see a deceased relative, became concerned when there were no staff at the funeral parlour for her 11am appointment.
‘Raised concerns about working alone’
In a statement read to the Norwich inquest, she said that “after about 10 minutes I decided to ring the landline number for that branch”. When she couldn’t hear a phone ringing within the branch, she attempted to call the celebrant she had been liaising with and a message was relayed to another branch.
Mr Kemp, a funeral manager at the Dereham branch of East of England Co-op Funeral Services, stated that he requested security to remotely inspect CCTV cameras at the Swaffham branch. He reported that they could see two women seated in the reception area, who had attended the 11am appointment, and Mrs Blundell’s car in the car park, but there was no trace of her.
The inquest was informed that there are no CCTV cameras in sensitive areas of the funeral parlour where bodies are stored. Mr Kemp went to the Swaffham branch and found Mrs Blundell deceased.
In a statement, he said that a “hydraulic hoist had come down on her body and was crushing her over the chest area”. He stated it was “apparent to me she was already dead”.
Mrs Blundell’s daughter, Lucy Blundell, stated: “I understand she had raised concerns about lone working.”
She mentioned that her mother, from Great Cressingham, was “respected by her colleagues” and had a “wide network of friends”.
The coroner stated Mrs Blundell was last seen on CCTV in the branch at 9.46am on December 1, walking away after taking a call on her work mobile phone. Mr Kemp is seen arriving at the branch just after midday, when he discovered Mrs Blundell.
Paul Bradbury, senior food and safety officer at Breckland Council, which investigated the incident, said Mrs Blundell was found “trapped in the mechanism of the mortuary hydraulic pump lift”. His report said she had been due to facilitate a viewing of a deceased person that morning.
There was an initial police investigation before the local authority took over, he said. He said the council investigation examined the condition and maintenance of the trolley, arrangements for lone working and staff training.
The 200kg hydraulic scissor lift mortuary trolley, manufactured in 2008, was sent for examination by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Mr Bradbury said. He said this examination identified issues including that “the return spring on the control handle wasn’t fully operating and didn’t close the operating valve without manual assistance”.
His report also noted that “the design of the handle means in some positions it can be knocked against a solid object and advanced”. “The time taken for the mechanism to descend is also deemed to be relevant,” he said.
Mr Bradbury said it was thought the trolley had been raised to a height of no greater than 5ft (1.5 metres) “as the deceased person had been placed in the middle of the three refrigerated drawers and there would have been no need for Sally to lift the lifting mechanism any higher”.
He said records show the trolley was last checked in October 2023, with no defects identified. Records indicate Mrs Blundell was in date for various training courses, including health and safety, the report said.
Mrs Blundell was seen on CCTV entering the chapel of rest room at 9.46am. An hourly lone worker alarm, at 10am, was manually closed at the remote alarm receiving centre, the inquest was told.
The inquest, being heard with a jury, continues.
