AN ambitious funeral director who made the brave decision to go it alone has ‘proved’ all who doubted her ‘wrong’ after her business was named the third best of its kind in Warrington.

‘Helen Horne Funeral Directors’ based on Longford Street has been nominated for three prestigious awards at the ‘Good Funeral Awards’ ceremony last month, after only opening its doors 16-months ago.

Proud owner, Helen Horne, 51, had worked in the industry for 10 years and endured long 50-hour weeks while raising her children and taking her qualifications in the ‘exhausting’ time leading up to opening her own funeral home in May 2021.

The mum-of-three from Stockton Heath, said: “What an achievement to get recognition so early on into opening my little but perfect funeral home.

“In my previous employment I got told I would not pass my funeral directors examination, but I proved them wrong with distinctions. Yes, it is a man’s world but recently there seems to be more ladies becoming funeral directors.

“I opened my own funeral home because I was treated unfairly, and the men were given the role of funeral director who had neither worked in the funeral industry before nor had a qualification to their name. I had just spent three years qualifying with also 10 years’ experience running the funeral home to have someone given the opportunity with no knowledge.”

The Longford funeral home was in the running for the following titles at the awards ceremony held in Oxford; , ‘promising newcomer to the trade’, ‘low-cost funeral provider’ and ‘best funeral director’.

Helen and her ‘amazing’ team have built a up a strong relationship within the community, recently becoming the new sponsors for the Orford Cobras under 10s football team.

As well as working as a drop point for Helping Hands Changing Lives charity.

And all these things have helped in building the brands good reputation to become one of the best funeral directors in the area.

Helen said: “I sometimes cannot actually believe how far my dream has taken me, but it is worth every moment of hard and sometimes exhausting work.”

Funeral celebrant, Kirstie Atherton who has worked closely with Helen and the funeral home, said: “When I qualified, I approached many funeral directors and found that the industry was indeed very closed. It concerned me to not find other people within the industry with the same forward-thinking, empathy-led focus as myself. But I didn’t doubt that the job was for me, I just believed that I hadn’t yet found my tribe. I work in a very heart-led way and so does Helen.

“Unlike many funeral directors, the name above the door is the name of the person you’re dealing with, it’s not just a title for a branch of a large franchise.

“Helen oversees literally everything, most of which she is entirely hands on with. She displays the most inspirational level of devotion to the families she works with. Nothing at all is too much trouble. There is no one I would trust more to care for a loved one.”

Kirstie received her own nomination at the same awards this year for ‘celebrant of the year’ by Helen Thorne Funeral Directors, which she proceeded to win the title of.

“Helen sets a great example to her children, two of whom work with her in the business,” Kirstie added, “She’s a shining light in the industry and a shining example to the women of Warrington as to what can be achieved if you dream big.”