Human bones found on Saunton Sands beach as cops cordon off scene

Human bones have been found at a UK beach with the area cordoned off and police investigating at the scene.

Police officers were called to Saunton Sands in North Devon at 2.50pm on Saturday afternoon and it has has now been confirmed that human bones have been found. Investigations are underway with police still at the beach this morning and the bones will be examined by a forensic archaeologist to assess how old they are.

A statement from Devon and Cornwall Police read: "Officers were called at 2.50pm on Saturday 11 October following the discovery of human bones at Saunton Sands beach. A scene guard remains in place while the items are recovered.

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"These will be examined by a forensic archaeologist to determine their age. Police enquiries are ongoing."

Photos taken by a member of the public seem to show officers digging in the sand after cordoning off an area of the beach with tape and cones. Lights were also taken to the beach so that the police could continue to work in the dark.

Saunton Sands is a beach near the village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton, popular for longboard surfing. It has an unusually exposed westerly making it a good location for surfers and provides space for large groups but the beach has no lifeguards and is known to have dangerous riptides. Swimming here is dangerous and has resulted in many coast guard call outs.

It comes after acarrier bag containing a human bone was found last Thursday near the Man and Boy statue at King's Quay in Brixham, Devon, sparking a police investigation.

Devon and Cornwall Police released a statement saying: "We were called at 3.40pm on Thursday 9 October to Kings Quay in Brixham after a carrier bag containing what appeared to be bone, was found at the base of the Man and Boy statue.

"The bag has been seized, and the bone has been initially examined and confirmed to be human. It will now be examined by specialists to confirm its age. Our investigation is ongoing to establish the full circumstances.

The police have yet to determine the age or origin of the bone, but it is expected that specialist tests will be conducted. An eyewitness reported seeing two police vehicles in the area on Thursday and officers with gloves holding evidence bags. "People were asked to move away from the area and they appeared to be taking statements," said the witness.