‘Only Fools and Horses’ hearse ‘busier than ever’ – it was as soon as ‘inappropriate’

The UK’s first ‘Only Fools and Horses’ themed hearse is “busier than ever”. Darren Abey claims his unique funeral services are going down a storm.

At 57, Darren has driven the bright yellow three-wheeler – an homage to the iconic TV show – for hundreds of funerals across the nation.

He launched the business aiming to offer “something different”, leading him to become potentially the only provider of this particular type of hearse in the UK.

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However, Darren insists that the reactions from bereaved families have been exceptional, with many claiming their deceased loved ones would have been ‘over the moon’ with the distinctive hearse.

The entrepreneur from Fleetwood, Lancashire, stated: “With the funeral business, if you’ve got what somebody wants then you’ve hit the nail on the head. I’ve booked another four funerals for August already – I’ve just done 10 in June and seven in July so we are busy,” he added.

“But it’s all about what you get out of me. I had a family come up to my yesterday at a funeral and they shook my hand and said ‘it was amazing – he would be absolutely over the moon with it’.”

“That was because he was poorly and every night he would fall asleep watching Only Fools and Horses because he loved it. I did one funeral for a man in his 30s and his family said they couldn’t have a black, traditional hearse as it was too much.”

“They wanted something to lighten the day a little bit and this hearse did. The family were happy and that’s the main thing.”

Darren set up his unique business about 11 years ago, but admits that it took a while for it to take off as people were initially unsure about the unconventional hearse.

Now, however, his business is thriving and even funeral directors have approached him at services, expressing their astonishment at his unique vehicle.

Darren shared: “I had always had a Trotters van and I just wanted to do something different that would put a smile on people’s faces.”

“Everybody, even funeral directors, come up to me and say ‘wow’. It didn’t really take off in the first few years because I think people thought it might be inappropriate.”

“But things have evolved towards alternative funerals and there are now different types of hearses like ice cream vans, tanks and bikes.”

“There’s an endless variety of options you can have but I’m the only one in the UK who does this. It’s gone from virtually nothing to being incredibly busy.”

Although Darren doesn’t always witness the reactions to the hearse as he’s typically behind the wheel, he’s been informed that people often honk their horns and flash their lights.

He says this happens ‘all the time’ and it sometimes helps to lighten the mood for the grieving families.

Darren, who operates Only Fools and Hearses full-time, said: “I never get to see this but everyone else gets to see the reactions of what people see when we drive past.”

“People then shout ‘Del Boy’ out of the window and beep their horns and flash the lights. When we get to the service, the drivers say the family were absolutely blown away with the reaction and that people were filming it.”

“But that happens all the time.”

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