Builders make grim 'human bones' discovery outside church as police launch probe

Builders working near a churchyard in South Yorkshire were left horrified after digging up a plastic bag containing "human bones" - sparking a police investigation.

Officers sealed off a 50-metre area outside a cemetery at St Wilfrid's Parish Church, off Church Lane in Doncaster, after the gruesome discovery on Monday. Two builders were clearing overgrown ground with a digger to install a wooden fence when they unearthed a black plastic bag filled with what looked like parts of a "dismembered body".

One of the workers, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It's almost as if someone has chucked the bones behind the wall and put some grass and soil over them to hide it."

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Describing the grim find, he said: "We were removing a top layer of grass and soil next to a four-foot stone wall so we could drive in some fence posts about a metre behind it. The area we were digging was about three metres from the closest grave."

He continued: "We must have removed one or two feet worth of overgrowth when we came across the black plastic bag. It split and all of a sudden bones and a jaw still containing teeth rolled out in front of us. We were shocked when we saw the bones as it isn't something you dig up every day."

The workers contacted their company, who then alerted police. Within hours, police arrived and cordoned off the area before crime scene investigators probed the remains, the builders said.

Photos appear to show a jawbone, teeth still intact, alongside a pile of bones - including what one of the men believed could be a skull. The workers said nothing else was found inside the bag.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Around 9.50am on Monday 6 October, we received a call to report that bones had been found near Church Lane. A scene is currently in place while searches in the area take place. It is not yet ascertained if the bones are human or animal. Enquiries are currently ongoing.”

Police have now confirmed that the bones found in the bag are human remains. Extensive enquiries have established that the remains were human, with officers saying they date back a "number of decades".

Police have said the discovery is not being treated as suspicious. Detective Chief Inspector Simon Cartwright said: "We are looking into the circumstances which resulted in these bones being found by contractors carrying out works in the area.

"We are acutely aware these remains are somebody's loved one and we assure the local community that we are carrying out our enquiries with all of the sensitivity you would expect.

"Early forensic analysis has been completed, and we believe no suspicious circumstances surround them. Once our enquiries are complete we will work closely with the church with a view to ensuring the remains are respectfully returned to a final resting place."