A Leeds funeral director, banned from NHS facilities, is accused of keeping deceased babies at home, with one mum horrified to find her son’s body in a baby bouncer ‘watching cartoons’
A Leeds funeral director has been accused of keeping deceased babies in her home, with one mum left “screaming” after finding her son’s body in a baby bouncer “watching cartoons.” Amie Upton, 38, who runs Florrie’s Army, a baby loss support and funeral service, has been banned from NHS maternity wards and mortuaries in Leeds following a BBC investigation that uncovered disturbing allegations about her practices.
Zoe Ward, 32, was devastated when her three-week-old son Bleu died of brain damage at Leeds General Infirmary in 2021.
Trusting Florrie’s Army to arrange his funeral after a friend’s recommendation, she expected professional care. Instead, when she visited Upton’s home the next day, she was horrified to find Bleu’s body in a baby bouncer in the living room, with Upton casually saying, “Come in, we’re watching PJ Masks”.
Ward described the scene as “mucky” and “dirty,” with a cat scratcher in the corner, a dog barking, and another deceased baby on the sofa. “I was screaming down the phone to my mum, ‘This ain’t right,’” Ward told the BBC.
She immediately switched funeral directors, unable to bear her son remaining in such conditions. Another couple, whose stillborn daughter was in Upton’s care earlier this year, shared a similar nightmare.
They believed their baby was at a funeral parlour in Headingley, only to learn she was at Upton’s home, five miles away, without their consent.
The mother described the experience as “like a horror film,” noting the body was “really smelly” and likely not kept at the proper temperature.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust barred Upton from its facilities in spring 2025 after receiving “several serious concerns” about her services over the years.
The Trust clarified that Florrie’s Army is not endorsed by or linked to them, and safeguarding measures, including monitoring Upton’s mortuary visits, have been in place since 2021.
West Yorkshire Police investigated two reports but found no crimes. Upton, who founded Florrie’s Army after losing her own unborn child in 2017 due to an abusive ex-partner’s actions, dismissed the claims as “ridiculous.”
She told The Mirror she hasn’t kept babies at her home for four years and denied using a bouncer, claiming it was a “laid-down chair” for transferring bodies.
Despite the allegations, Upton claims that she’s only had two complaints in eight years, with many Facebook reviews praising her “beautiful” and “inspirational” services.
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