Residents living near to a Nottinghamshire woodland where human remains were found say the grim discovery made them "go cold". Officers were called to Coxmoor Road, Sutton-in-Ashfield, just before 7pm on Wednesday, April 26, where the remains were found.
Police say a member of the public came across what they suspected to be human remains and then contacted the police - specialist officers then began conducting a full investigation at the scene.
Ruby Verma, 46, who lives off Kirkby Road, said: “I’m in shock, that’s made me go cold because it makes you think that nowhere is safe.
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"It was only by coincidence that I was driving down there this morning, because I would never usually go down there, so I saw the police officers and tape but I didn’t follow it up any further."
John Brealey, 74, lives on Kirkby Road, near the end of Coxmoor Road. He said: “I went that way whilst I was driving to Sutton this morning and I saw lots of police officers, on the way back I had a clearer view and I saw digging and a big tent.
"All sorts obviously goes through your mind and I obviously thought there’s something ado, I just didn’t know what.” When told that police had found suspected human remains, Mr Brealey said: “Oh goodness, I didn’t know. I’ve lived here for 23 years and certainly it’s always a quiet area, we’ve never had any trouble, it’s all just speculation as to what has happened at the moment so we’ll have to wait and see.”
A woman who lives on nearby Little Ricket Lane, who didn’t want to be named, added: “We’ve only literally just been talking about it but we don’t know anything more than what we’ve read on the news.
"We’ve read that an anthropologist is on the scene so that would suggest the remains are a bit older, but we obviously don’t know yet. It’s definitely a quiet area this and even though I’ve got a dog, I don’t really use those woodlands, we tend to take them into Newstead Abbey instead.”
Police say there is a large cordon in place and it is expected to remain for the next seven days - officers are being supported by scientists including an anthropologist. There is also a no fly-zone over the scene which includes drones while officers carry out their inquiries. A tent has also been set up in the field where the remains were found.
Another woman who lived off Kirkby Road, who didn’t want to be named, said: “I don’t know much about it but the road being shut off at both ends is certainly something that will be noticed by people and it might make traffic worse for a while. A lot of people use that as a cut through.”
One man walking his dog in the area said: “I tend to keep out of those woodlands to be honest. There’s always far too many other dog walkers and people camping there who shouldn’t be.”
Nottinghamshire Police Superintendent Claire Rukas said: “We are in the very early stages of an investigation after human remains were found in a field by a member of the public.
“We are now carrying out extensive work to determine the identity of the individual and the circumstances surrounding their death. The public can expect a large police presence in the area for the next few days.
“This will obviously be concerning news for local residents and as soon as we have more information we will be sharing this with the public.”
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