MYSTERY today surrounds the discovery of what is thought to be a human skull in a tranquil village on the Suffolk/Essex border.

Russell Claydon

MYSTERY today surrounds the discovery of what is thought to be a human skull in a tranquil village on the Suffolk/Essex border.

A member of the public contacted police after stumbling across the remains while out walking in Ashen, south of Stoke-By-Clare.

A cordon was put up at the scene while officers carefully recovery the skull from a ditch.

Forensic teams are being bought in to examine Thursday's find as part of an investigation.

It is not yet known how old the remains are, thought they are believed to date back years.

A spokeswoman for Essex police said: “We were contacted just before 2pm on Thursday, January 21st by a member of the public who reporting he had found a skull in Upper Farm Road in Ashen.

“We recovered the skull from a ditch and it will be forensically examined as soon as possible.

“We are unable to confirm the origin of the skull at this time but it is thought to be human.

“The skull will be examined by experts who will be able to give approximate age but it could be extremely old or date back to the war years.”

She added: “No other bones have been found.”