FUNERAL director Paul Bowley has been appointed president of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.

The organisation represents more than 870 independent funeral directors across the UK.

Mr Bowley has been working in the business for more than 37 years, having started by making coffins for a firm in Brighton.

In 1999 he established his own funeral directors, Bowley Funeral Service in Hasscocks, in partnership with P and S Gallagher.

In 2010 Paul and his fellow directors launched an additional branch in Burgess Hill followed by new premises, Bowley and Gallagher, which opened in Brighton last year.

Today the company is run by Paul, Pat and Sandy Gallagher, their son Matthew and a team of ten.

As president of SAIF, he will be the national voice for independent funeral directors, raising awareness and improving Government and public understanding of funeral costs and other important issues affecting the industry.

He will also be travelling the UK to meet and support individual SAIF members throughout the year.

He said: “I have been a member of SAIF for many years and I am proud to be taking on this new role to represent and champion the fantastic work of independent funeral directors who support their local communities.”