Police investigate discovery of human bones on Melton building site

Officers have set up a forensic examination tent at the old Catherine Dalley House residential home, off Scalford Road, which is being demolished to make way for more than 50 retirement living apartments and bungalows.

Leicestershire Police say officers attended the scene after receiving a report at around 3.30pm on Thursday reporting human remains had been found in the ground following work being carried out to demolish some buildings there.

Building work has been halted since the discovery and police say a scene preservation remains in place while enquiries continue.

Det Insp Tim Lindley said: “A small quantity of human remains have been found at this stage which have been confirmed as being human bones.

“Work is now being carried out to determine the length of time they have been in the ground.

“Enquiries are in the very early stages and it will be a lengthy process to establish the full circumstances of this finding.

“At this stage, the findings are not being linked to any other current ongoing investigation.”

We reported in July that the site, which has been vacant for two years, is being redeveloped by McCarthy and Stone after planning permission was approved by Melton Borough Council. The work was due to take between a year and 18 months.

A spokesman for McCarthy and Stone released a statement to the Melton Times this afternoon (Monday) which states: “We can confirm that construction is expected to resume on part of our Scalford Road site on Thursday (October 24).

“We will continue to co-operate with Leicestershire Police while their investigation is ongoing, and we will continue to await further instructions from the police with regards to when we can resume work across all of the site.”