Female undertaker crushed to death in ‘tragic accident’ at funeral parlour

An undertaker was crushed to death in a ‘tragic accident’ at a funeral parlour, an inquest heard.

Sally Blundell, 58, died at an East of England Co-op Funeral Services branch in Swaffham, Norfolk on December 1 last year.

The incident reportedly involved a hoist used for lifting objects.

At an inquest, which opened on Thursday, pathologist Laszlo Igali said her cause of death was a ‘contusion and compression of the chest by an external object’.

Ms Blundell – whose job title was given in court as ‘funeral administrator’ – had worked for East of England Co-op for a number of years and spent some time leading another branch in Attleborough.

Following the hearing, a spokesman for East of England Co-op said: ‘We are deeply saddened by the death of our colleague and friend Sally Blundell.

‘Sally worked for our Co-op for over eight years and her care and experience will be truly missed by those in and around Swaffham, as well as her colleagues.

‘First and foremost in our mind are Sally’s family and friends – we offer them our deepest condolences.’

Health and safety officers at Breckland Council have launched a probe into the circumstances of Sally’s death, described by Co-op as a ‘tragic accident’.

The inquest, held at County Hall in Norwich, was adjourned until April 5.

Last month a waste company boss was jailed for more than seven years after a worker he was supervising fell into an industrial shredder and died.

David Willis, 29, was crushed in the shredder designed for wood and commercial waste at Timmins Waste Services (TWS) in Wolverhampton on September 18, 2015.

TWS and yard manager Brian Timmins, 54, who was operating the machine at the time, were found guilty of corporate manslaughter and manslaughter respectively after a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.