Dog 'Reacts' In Second Cellar

A police sniffer dog has given a "positive reaction" in a second underground chamber at Haut de la Garenne in the search for evidence of child abuse in Jersey.

Sky's Sara Merchant said: "As soon as they were able to take up the flooring above the second chamber, a dog specially trained to detect human remains andblood was sent in.

"The animal showed a positive reaction.

"It means that forensic teams will have to go about their work very carefully.

"We believe the second chamber is three times the size of the first so it will take some time to search."

Police said: "The dog has given an indication but it is close to the scene of the find in the first cellar.

"It is hoped that full access to the second cellar will be gained (on Tuesday) when the forensic work can begin in earnest."

Fragments of bone, blood spots and graffiti reading "I've been bad for years and years" have already been found in the first of what police believe is a network of four secret rooms at the home.

The chambers were not on the original plans of the building, police say.

More than 160 people have come forward to officers investigating the site to say they were abused in the underground rooms over a four-decade period.

They are still awaiting test results on the bone and blood samples to help them trace and date the finds.

Investigators are also reported to be expecting to make three arrests in connection with the case within the next fortnight - two in Jersey and one in the UK mainland.

The man leading the investigation, Jersey's deputy chief officer Lenny Harper, told a reporter that police feared one incident could have led to the death of a child.

"We have a particularly graphic account of an incident which still causes us concern," he told The Sunday Telegraph.

"We can't say that a person definitely died. But, if you look at it, you have to think there is a strong possibility that the person died. That followed by the fact that this person was never seen again."

Officers have reportedly received accounts from former residents of the care home of abuse taking place on seaside trips and of children being forced to watch others being abused.

They also fear bones could have been removed from the home as recently as five years ago, either accidentally or in a deliberate attempt by perpetrators to cover their tracks, the paper said.