Human remains found in Worcestershire are 'adult female'

Human remains found inside a septic tank in a Worcestershire village are those of an adult female, a post-mortem examination has found.

West Mercia Police launched an investigation into the "unexplained death" after the discovery in Kempsey, Worcestershire, on July 12.

Officers had also previously ruled out a link to a Metropolitan Police search eight miles away in nearby Pershore for murdered estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, who went missing in 1986.

That search finished earlier this week.

The bones were discovered after the tank was drained during routine maintenance.

ITV News Central understands that multiple lines of inquiry are being investigated, including a possible link to the 1982 disappearance of a Kempsey woman, named locally as farmer's wife Brenda Venables.

In May 1982, the Worcester Evening News ran a story on 48-year-old Mrs Venables going missing two days earlier from her home in Bestmans Lane.

Her husband told the paper: "I just woke up to find that she had gone.

"She has never done anything like this before and I haven't the faintest idea what has happened to her."