Severed human head found in Cambridgeshire quarry Published duration 17 May 2016

image copyright PA image caption A police vehicle enters Block Fen Quarry at Mepal, near Ely, where a severed head was discovered

A severed human head has been found in a Cambridgeshire quarry.

The head was found by a quarry worker at Mepal, between Chatteris and Ely, on Monday afternoon. It is not yet known whether the head was male or female.

Officers are also searching a construction site in Bedfordshire, from where they believe the head came.

Police stressed the discovery at Block Fen Drove was of a head and not a skull and that they were trying to establish how long the remains had been there.

image copyright Vizmaps/BBC

The head has been removed and is being analysed by the Cambridgeshire Coroner.

Det Insp Jerry Waite, from the Beds, Cambs and Herts Major Crime Unit (MCU), said: "We are conducting enquiries both locally and across the county borders, and would urge anyone with information about the finding to contact us.

image caption Reporters are being kept back from the cordon at Block Fen Drove

"At this stage we do not know if the head is male or female, however we have got officers carrying out searches at a site in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, as we believe this is where the remains may have come from."

A forensics team has been at Mill Road, Sharnbrook, 40 miles away from Mepal, since Monday afternoon.

image caption Police are still guarding the scene at the quarry at Mepal, where the head was discovered

Julia Greenaway, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

It's pretty peaceful here on Block Fen Drove, apart from the lorries rumbling past, continuing with their work.

One driver stopped to say there were quite a few police down at the quarry site.

Only one police car has been seen leaving the site in the past few hours. Reporters are being kept well back from the cordon.

Mick George Ltd, which has an aggregates and landfill site at Block Fen Drove, told the BBC: "We are working closely with the police and providing them with all the information they need to undertake their investigations."

A number of companies operate out of Mepal quarry, and many extract aggregates to be used in the construction industry.

Police said the head was found at about 15:00 BST by a Mick George worker.

A spokesman said officers expected to remain at both sites overnight.

image copyright sbna image caption Police have searched a landfill site at Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire since Monday afternoon

image copyright sbna image caption The landfill site is about 40 miles away from Mepal