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Inside life of a funeral director where family members leave ashes uncollected for 20 years and ‘no day is the same’

A FUNERAL director has revealed what life is like in his unique profession - and "no day is the same".

Laurence Jones, of Laurence Jones Funeral Directors in Bebington, Wirral, said his daily tasks range from embalming bodies to handing over ashes from 20 years ago.

A funeral director (not pictured) has revealed what life is like in his profession
A funeral director (not pictured) has revealed what life is like in his professionCredit: Getty

"Very often, all these things come at once," Laurence told The Mirror.

"You can get people turning up unexpectedly asking for ashes from 20 years ago, or be waiting on forms you’ve asked for that haven’t been done by the authorities.

"I enjoy it though, no day is ever the same, that's for sure."

Funeral directors will usually arrange the details and handle the logistics of a funeral, taking into account the wishes of the person who has died and their family.

Laurence said: "We normally start at about 7am in the morning to get the cars cleaned for morning funerals, and the florists usually start delivering flowers from 8am for the day's services.

"The phone usually starts ringing from the public at around 8.30am for general daily enquiries and it can be absolutely anything.

"The other day we had someone call to collect their father's ashes from 20 years ago.

"This can happen at any time, particularly over ashes, as people often want to pair them with a recently deceased family member."

After speaking with the family, they will establish where the funeral will be, as well as the dates and times of wakes, memorial services and burials.

When it comes to service leaflets, funeral directors will mock up a copy and send it the family to check they are happy with the design.

They will also deal with the legal side of things - which Laurence says can be problematic.

''We take legal forms to the authorities to authorise the funerals, particularly cremation forms, and if they’re not agreed it can prejudice the funeral," Laurence explained.

"You’ve then got the funerals themselves that can take up a fair chunk of the day depending on which type of service, whether it’s a religious one or a celebration of life.

"You can be on any one of them for at least two hours. The preparation time takes a while too, with embalming, dressing, showing the deceased in the chapel viewing and sorting out the service leaflets with the family."

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