POLICE have named an undertaker at the centre of a fraud investigation in a bid to hear from more potential victims.

West Mercia Police is appealing for clients of Andrew Baker, who is the director of Baker & Brown Ltd, which has been trading as Cotswold Funeral Services and Honeybourne Funeral Services.

Baker, aged 50, of Pebworth, near Evesham, was arrested on suspicion of fraud on Tuesday, October 22 and a number of clients have contacted the force to report they have been victims of fraud.

He initially traded as Cotswold Funeral Services in Stow-on-the-Wold from 2009 then closed that business and re-started as Honeybourne Funeral Services in Honeybourne early in 2012.

Among the reports is the allegation clients paid thousands of pounds to either Honeybourne Funeral Services or Cotswold Funeral Services for a funeral plan to be arranged only to find none of the services had been put in place.

Detective Inspector Andy Price, of South Worcestershire, CID said: “We have taken the unusual step of naming Mr Baker and his companies at the point he has been arrested to reduce the chance of a family of a recently deceased person suffering further distress because of any criminality that may have taken place.

“We advise anyone who has taken out a funeral plan with Mr Baker, Cotswold Funeral Services or Honeybourne Funeral Services, to check that everything is as it should be.”

Baker was arrested, questioned by detectives and has been released on police bail while investigations continue.

Anyone with information should call the police, quoting incident 0245s09/05/13, on the non-emergency number 101.