A FAMILY-RUN funeral group has celebrated a staggering four decades of serving communities in Braintree and Witham.

The Hunnaball Family Funeral Group, led by Trevor Hunnaball and wife Melanie, has been in business for an impressive 40 years.

They were joined by family, friends and colleagues at a special celebration at Colchester Rugby Club which commemorated the milestone.

Guests of honour were High Steward of Colchester Sir Bob Russell, National Association of Funeral Directors president Barry Pritchard and his wife Yvonne, non-executive director Damian Culhane, and Janet C Davies and her husband Don.

Janet ran the company’s branches at Braintree and Kelvedon for many years, before her retirement in 2022.

The Hunnaball Family Funeral Group comprises over a dozen branches across Suffolk and Essex, including Braintree, Witham and Kelvedon. 

The latest celebration comes after founder Trevor marked his own personal milestone of 65 years in the industry in 2022, before being awarded a lifetime achievement award by the NAFD in July.  

It also comes alongside Mr Hunnaball’s 50th anniversary as a member of the British Institute of Embalmers.