Up to seven children's bodies still buried in care home
Police suspect they will uncover more human remains at a former children's care home in Jersey in the Channel Islands after breaking into a cellar and discovering another secret chamber yesterday.
The two caverns, measuring 12ft by 12ft, underneath Haut de la Garenne on Jersey were bricked up many years ago and filled-in with soil and rock.
Police investigating claims of systematic child abuse over the past six decades have spent three days concentrating on the area after a sniffer dog picked up a scent.
Alleged victims told police that the cellar was a place where they were abused.
When a team punched a 3ft hole through the ceiling of the first chamber, what they found matched descriptions given by former residents. But they soon realised there was a second adjoining room which was also bricked up.
Police found a bathtub attached to the floor of the first cellar. It is thought it was used for a form of water torture.
The dog, which is trained to detect human remains, barked furiously when it was allowed into the cavern. It reacted the same way before the discovery a child's skull on Saturday.
The breakthrough looks likely to confirm the worst fears of police, who indicated earlier in the week that the remains of up to seven children could be found.
Deputy Chief Officer Lenny Harper, who is leading the investigation, said: "Whilst I'm confident that the dog has found something, there could be an innocent explanation. The forensic expert who went in thinks there was another room of exactly the same size that appears to have been bricked up as well.
"It looks as if it is going to be a long job and our archaeologist and anthropologist will spend some considerable time sifting through.''
Haut de la Garenne, which was converted into a youth hostel four years ago, is at the centre of one of Britain's biggest child abuse scandals.
More than 160 alleged victims of sexual, physical and psychological abuse have come forward. The inquiry, which has drawn up a list of 40 suspects, intensified last weekend with the discovery of human remains.
Shackles
Builders working on the property in 2004 claimed they had found shackles, canes and even evidence of a stock for children in a cellar. Mr Harper said: "We are making urgent inquiries to find if those shackles still exist.'' He added: "We have to sift through an awful lot of rubble.''
One of the two marquees erected next to the building is already filled with material which will have to be analysed. With the discovery of a second chamber, Mr Harper said he expected the search phase of the investigation to take several more weeks.
It came as police reopened an investigation into claims of sexual and physical abuse at a children's home on the mainland. Police in Hampshire said they were making inquiries after a man came forward with claims concerning the former Children's Cottage Home in Portsmouth. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Caroline Gammell, Aislinn Simpson and Lucy Cockcroft in Jersey
