Undertaker Crushed by Scissor Lift in Funeral Parlour Tragedy
A grandmother and undertaker was found crushed to death by a scissor lift used to move bodies from a fridge in the funeral parlour where she worked, a coroner's inquest has heard. The tragic incident occurred at the East of England Co-op Funeral Services branch in Swaffham, Norfolk, on December 1, 2023.
Discovery of the Accident
Sally Blundell, 58, was discovered trapped underneath the hydraulic equipment in the morgue area of the funeral home. She had been working alone at the time of the accident. Concerns were first raised when a grieving family arrived for an 11am appointment and found the parlour empty with no staff present.
Dawn Salisbury, who had made arrangements to see a deceased relative, became worried after waiting approximately 10 minutes with no one attending to her. "After about 10 minutes I decided to ring the landline number for that branch," she stated in evidence read to the Norwich inquest. When she couldn't hear a phone ringing within the building, she contacted the celebrant she had been dealing with, which eventually led to a message being passed to another branch.
Emergency Response and Investigation
Stephen Kemp, a funeral manager at the Dereham branch of East of England Co-op Funeral Services, took action after receiving the alert. He asked security to remotely check CCTV cameras at the Swaffham branch, which showed two women waiting in the reception area and Mrs. Blundell's car in the parking lot, but no sign of the undertaker herself.
"It was apparent to me she was already dead," Mr. Kemp stated regarding his discovery of Mrs. Blundell's body. He described finding her with a hydraulic hoist that had come down on her body, crushing her over the chest area.
Police officer Luke Heffer provided details of the scene, noting that Mrs. Blundell was "found trapped in the scissor lift" with her upper body inside the frame and lying across a bar. The equipment was described as being used to lift caskets in and out of the large fridge in the room.
Safety Concerns and Family Impact
The inquest revealed there are no CCTV cameras in sensitive areas of the funeral parlour where bodies are kept, limiting surveillance in those spaces. Mrs. Blundell's daughter, Lucy Blundell, shared in a statement that her mother had previously expressed concerns about working alone.
"I understand she had raised concerns about lone working," Lucy Blundell told the inquest. She described her mother, who lived in Great Cressingham, as being "respected by her colleagues" and having a "wide network of friends."
Coroner's Findings and Ongoing Proceedings
Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake recorded the medical cause of death as "contusion and compression of the chest by an external object." CCTV footage showed Mrs. Blundell last seen in the branch at 9:46am on December 1, walking away after taking a call on her work mobile phone. Mr. Kemp arrived at the branch just after midday and made the tragic discovery.
The inquest, which is being heard with a jury, continues to examine the circumstances surrounding this workplace tragedy that has left the local community in mourning and raised questions about safety protocols in funeral service environments.
