The Sudbury community has expressed its disbelief at the shocking discovery of what is believed to be human bones in the River Stour.
Suffolk police have launched an investigation after bags of bones were discovered in the river near St Gregory’s Church shortly after 4.35pm on Thursday.
The find prompted police to set up two cordons in the area - one on a pathway that runs alongside a section of the river, and another just outside the grounds of the church.
The part of the river where the body was found backs onto the courtyard of the St Joseph’s care home in The Croft.
Town mayor Jack Owen has urged residents in Sudbury to remain calm after the discovery and said he is awaiting further information from the police.
He said: “This is an absolute shock. You would never imagine this sort of thing happening.
“The area is normally busy.
“I am intrigued to hear where they came from. It’s a bit frightening how these bones came to be.“This is an uncommon find. I would urge people not to worry about this or panic.”
Denise O’Connell, who runs The Jam Shed market stall in Sudbury town centre, said: “You don’t expect to see this kind of thing here.
“I sometimes walk along the meadows near the river with my dogs. But I definitely didn’t expect this kind of thing to happen.”
Fellow market trader Alex May added: “You don’t think this could happen at all - not anything as nefarious as this sounds.
“This is just your average sleepy Suffolk market town.”
A Sudbury man, who gave his name as Danny, said: “This is a nice little town.
“We have other incidents of crime in Sudbury. There have been murders in the town in the past, but no bones.
“I spend a lot of time in that part of town - and it’s usually very peaceful.”
Another woman named Fiona, who asked us not to use her surname, was walking along the riverside on Friday morning with her partner. She said she heard police in the area at 4am, several hours after the discovery.
She added: “This path is quite busy most of the time - there’s plenty of people walking here.
“It’s very strange for someone to leave a body in the river, as you would think it would be easily found.”
MORE: Two crime scenes in place after ‘bags of human bones’ discovered in river
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