UPDATE: Human head discovered in Cambridgeshire quarry thought to have been transported in landfill

The death of a person whose head was found at a quarry in Cambridgeshire and is thought to have been transported in landfill, is being treated as 'suspicious', police have said this afternoon.
Block Fen near MepalBlock Fen near Mepal
Block Fen near Mepal

Officers said the body part had come from a site in Sharnbrook, Beds, which is owned by train company Network Rail.

A rail project is currently taking place on the land by infrastructure specialists, Murphy, who refused to comment on the gruesome discovery.

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It is not yet clear how the body part got from the building site to the quarry 40 miles away in Mepal, Cambs, but it’s thought it may have been transported in landfill.

A police spokesperson said: “We were called at about 3pm yesterday afternoon (Monday, May 16) with reports of the discovery of a human head at a quarry in Block Fen Drove, Mepal.

“Officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit are conducting enquiries, both locally and across the county borders.”

Police have not yet established whether the remains are male or female.

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A spokesman said it was a head, not a skull, and that it was found by quarry workers during routine operations.

The head has been recovered by officers and it will soon be passed to the coroner for post mortem.

Specialist forensic teams were today searching Network Rail land and a JCB digger could be seen searching a landfill site beneath the village’s historic viaduct.

Trains were still passing overhead nearby to the closed off site and a number of police vehicles were also in the site car park.

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Sharnbrook, which is north of Bedford, Beds, has approximately 2000 residents, many of whom are employed by Unilever Research which is based nearby.

It is understood that the head may be so damaged, it will be difficult to identify it for some time.

Tests are currently being carried out on the body part as police search for clues as to how it came to be found at the quarry in Mepal, Cambs.

No other body parts have been found by police who have launched a public appeal for any information.

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A spokeswoman for Murphy said the company could not comment on the matter while police investigations were ongoing.

A spokesman for Mick George Ltd, the company that runs the quarry in Mepal, said: “We are working closely with the police and providing them with all the information they need to undertake their investigations.

“At this point we cannot provide any further comments.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Major Crime Unit on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.