Hi John - Gallery Editor.
Nicrophorus investigator.
I've wrongly identified this as a red and black froghopper. Please use the info below to update my photo. Many thanks for your time on this!
Coppery Clover :-)
My description: it's about 1 inch long. It had aphids around its head and thorax, which it appeared to be eating.
The sources below gave me the correct ID:
1) Curator of Natural Sciences at Ludlow Museum Resource Centre
2) Earth Sciences and Geography, Keele University
They are commonly called Sexton Beetles or Burying beetles, and there are several species that occur in the UK. They get their name from the fact that they are scavengers and carnivorous and they actually bury small dead animals like mice etc., on which they lay their eggs so that the larvae have a source of food. From the information we have, the species most like the photo is
Nicrophorus investigator.
Both sources concluded that it's difficult to be sure since there are a number of similar-looking species in the genus.