Notts Police scrambled after three-year-old boy finds human skull

Charlie Ryan-Williams unearthed what his dad Jack thought were pieces of broken pottery by the side of a footpath.

But on closer inspection, they appeared to be fragments of bone so Jack called police.Detectives dashed to the site and sealed off Church Street in Southwell, Notts., after Charlie made the grisly discovery at 10am last Thursday (14/5).

Preliminary investigations suggest the skull, found near the site of an ancient Anglo Saxon burial ground and Roman villa, are probably human.

Veterinary Nurse Jack, 35, said: “We were walking along when my son found something on the footpath.

“At first I thought they were pieces of pottery but then I realised what they were.

“I could see straight away they were very old but thought I should ring the police anyway.

“It was certainly a surprising thing for us to find, but his mum was in for more of a surprise when – before I could explain more about how old the remains were – my son told her all about the human skull we had found.”

The remains may be sent for more detailed laboratory examination but no further police investigations are deemed necessary.

Sergeant Andy Lee, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Whilst we don’t believe that a crime has been committed (at least for a very long time) Mr Ryan-Williams was absolutely right to report this to us.

“Any discovery of human remains is taken extremely seriously and a proper investigation carried out, even where we don’t believe and offence has been committed.”

The remains are expected to be passed to Nottinghamshire County archaeologist.