Nuns are among 12 people who have been arrested over alleged historical abuse at an orphanage in Scotland, police have said.

Eleven women and one man - aged between 62 and 85 - have been held as part of an investigation into the Smyllum Park home in Lanark, Police Scotland said.

The orphanage was opened in 1864 and was run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, a society for women within the Catholic Church.

Over the years it housed 11,600 children aged between one and 14 years old, including those who were blind or deaf-mute. It closed in 1981.

The bodies of at least 400 children were discovered in a mass grave just a three-minute drive away from the care home in 2003.


Former residents spoke about their experiences of the orphanage at Scotland's child abuse inquiry earlier this year.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "Twelve people, eleven women and one man, ages ranging from 62 to 85 years, have been arrested and charged in connection with the non-recent abuse of children.

Image: The bodies of hundreds of children were found in an unmarked mass grave at St Mary's Cemetery in 2003

"All are subject of reports to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal. A further four individuals will be reported today.

"Enquiries are continuing, it would be inappropriate to comment further."

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Taylor added: "Investigating child abuse offences is highly complex and every care is taken to ensure that enquiries are proportionate, appropriate and that victims' needs are central to our investigations."

Former residents Frank Docherty and Jim Kane previously uncovered the burial plot in an unmarked section of St Mary's Cemetery as they campaigned to expose the alleged physical abuse at the orphanage.

A year later, they were told that children had been buried in 158 compartments in the graveyard by its founder, Daughters of Charity.

A third of the children who died were aged five or under - with records showing that most of the children had died of diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis and pleurisy.

Mr Docherty and Mr Kane later accused the nuns of "incomplete records".

Detective Taylor urged anyone who has been a victim of the abuse to report it to Police Scotland.

"We will listen and we will take action regardless of when or where the abuse occurred," she added.