Youngest Undertaker in Britian - Just 17 Years Old

George Simnett, 17, set up his own funeral business last month.

He currently runs his company, GE Simnett and Family Funeral Directors, from the premises of Charnwood Funeral Services in Loughborough, Leicestershire, where he learnt his trade.

But he plans to buy his own offices as soon as he finds somewhere suitable.

Hailing from a farming family in Coleorton, Leics, he broke with family tradition exchanging livestock for corpses.

He said: "I went to agricultural college after leaving school and I had 150 sheep but I wasn't earning enough from them to make a wage so I had to get rid of them.

"I always wanted to be an undertaker, helping people at difficult times.

"I think I'm a caring person and I like caring for families. Preparing the body and getting it right for when the family sees it is very rewarding."

He said: "We clean up and prepare the bodies. We wash them, wash their hair, dry them, put make-up on their faces, cap their eyes and sew their mouths up to make them look like they're asleep.

"They look like ghosts when they come in here but there's a big difference before and after. And the families are so grateful."

The teenager says his mother Wendie is keen to get involved in the business too, helping with providing flowers for services.

"My mum will do the flower arranging when I get my own office," he said.

Nor were his friends surprised by his unusual choice of career.

"They probably expected it because I get my hands into anything," he said.

"They love talking about it though. It's one of those subjects that people want to learn more about."

Rachael Ryan, 15, reportedly said in August she wanted to become Britain's youngest undertaker.

But although she had helped out with the family business already, the teenager from Newport, south Wales, was waiting to finish school before signing up full-time.

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