A witness said they believe a leg had appeared on the beach, with one person describing the scene as ‘very graphic’- before the remains were taken to a mortuary for examination
Emergency services raced to a beach in Devon this morning after human remains were found washed up along the coast.
A witness said they believe a human leg had washed up on Westward Ho Beach in Bideford, North Devon, with one person describing the scene as “very graphic”. Police vehicles and a private ambulance arrived on scene at around 9.30am this morning, Thursday, May 22, shortly after the suspected remains were discovered. It is also understood that photos were shared to social media before being taken down, DevonLive reports. A police spokesperson said the remains have been since been removed from the beach and are now being examined.
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “We were notified at around 9.30am on Thursday 22 May following reports of what appeared to be human remains found at the end of Westward Ho! Beach, Bideford. Officers attended and have removed the remains to the mortuary for further examination.”
In April last year, a family found a human skull and bones on Cove Road Beach in Silverdale, Lancashire – close to the scene of a tragedy that took place 20 years ago. Jenny, 50, her husband Mick, 52, and their twins, 10, were fossil hunting in a rocky section of the beach, close to Morecambe Bay on Easter Sunday, when they discovered the remains.
The family initially thought they had discovered ancient animal remains. “My son looked down and saw the skull in between rocks,” Jenny told the MailOnline. He told his mother: “That doesn’t look like and animal or a rock.”
Lancashire Police told The Mirror at the time that they were “keeping an open mind” about the origins of the skull. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “At 4.10pm on 31st March we were called to Cove Road Beach in Silverdale to reports bones had been found in the water. Our initial enquiries have confirmed that some of the remains are human.
“Although we are keeping an open mind as to the origin of the remains, we believe they have been in the sea for a prolonged period. Our enquiries are expected to be ongoing for some time and we continue to liaise with HM Coroner. Anyone with information which could assist our investigation is asked to call 101. Quote log 745 of 31st March 2024.”