A murder investigation has been launched after human bones were found dumped in a river.
A member of the public saw two bin bags in the River Stour in Sudbury, Suffolk, yesterday afternoon and alerted a ranger, who then spotted bones inside them.
The ranger had moved the bags before opening them up and making the horrifying discovery.
Crime scenes have been set up where the bags were found in the river and where they were moved to by the ranger.
Police said a shopping trolley found further along the river may have been used to transport the bags.
Inspector Kevin Horton, Local Policing Commander for Sudbury, said: “We appreciate that local residents are likely to find this discovery alarming and as such we will be increasing police patrols in the town to provide reassurance.
"Officers are also likely to remain at the scene over the weekend and in to the early part of next week.
“Discoveries such as this are extremely rare – especially in Suffolk – and as such we do not believe there is any cause for concern to members of the public.
“We would ask anyone with information about this discovery to make contact with the Major Investigation Team immediately. This includes anyone who believes they saw the bags in the river prior to yesterday afternoon, or saw the shopping trolley either in this location or elsewhere along the river.”
A post-mortem examination is due to take place tomorrow while police carry out forensic tests on the bones.
Detectives are urging anyone who has seen the bags in the river or knows how they came to be in the water - or who uses the popular walk - to come forward with any information.
Anyone with information can contact the Major Investigation Team, either via the online portal here or by calling 101.
