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A UK funeral firm collapsed into administration and allegedly left 46,000 people in the lurch. Two men are accused of a conspiracy to defraud over the crumbling of the Safe Hands pre-paid scheme. Tens of thousands lost cash they had saved in order to pay for their funeral when the company went bust in 2022, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.

Richard Wells, 39, residing in Spain, and Neil Debenham, 43, of Norwich, have been charged. SFO director of operations, Emma Luxton, said: "This scheme marketed peace of mind to tens of thousands of people, many of them vulnerable, that promise dissolved when it collapsed, leaving plan holders exposed, out of pocket and uncertain about their funeral arrangements. Today's charges mark a critical step in our investigation." Wells is the former director of SHP Capital, the holding company that owned Safe Hands Plans Limited, with Debenham a fellow senior executive, the SFO said.

It added: "The two companies, now in administration, shared the same registered address in East London.

"The charges relate to the collapse of Safe Hands Plans Limited, a prepaid funeral plan provider that ceased trading in 2022, having failed to obtain necessary regulatory approval for its ongoing sale of plans."

It follows the SFO's October 2023 announcement of its investigation.

Wells and Debenham are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 5.

Pre-paid funeral plans are a way for people to pay for their own funeral in advance of their deaths and avoid passing that cost on to their families and loved ones.

Since 2022, firms offering them have required approval to operate from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Safe Hands was one of many firms operating in the previously unregulated sector and collapsed in the months leading up to the introduction of the new rules.

Those in charge said the company was unable to pay for the funeral costs of its customers, The Guardian reported.