Police search wooded area in West Sussex after ‘human skull’ discovered

A bone – believed to be a human skull – was found by workmen near a layby on the B2141 in Chilgrove, near Chichester, at 12.35pm on Thursday 28 January, according to police.

Searching of the area will continue over the next few days, and any remains recovered will be subject to specialist examinations and testing.

Chief Inspector Jon Carter, District Commander for Arun and Chichester, said: “Our enquiries are ongoing as we seek to establish how long these suspected human remains have been at this location, and how they came to be here.

“This is a complex process which is likely to take several weeks at least before we will know the age of the remains with any certainty.

“In order to allow the continued searches to be carried out safely, the road has been reduced to a single carriageway and there are temporary traffic signals in place.

“We are grateful for road users’ care and patience if they are travelling past this location.

“This discovery is currently being treated as unexplained, and I would urge anyone with any information which could assist in our investigation – no matter how insignificant they think it may be – to contact us.”

Report it online or call 101, quoting Operation Sunlight.

See more photos of police investigation at the scene here.