A farmer was left feeling unsettled when he discovered suspected human remains just outside a flooded churchyard. Stephen Bartlett, 61, encountered the bones while surveying his local area for flood damage near his home in Mudford, close to Yeovil.
The ex-soldier stumbled upon the remains on January 29 and claims he “instantly recognised” them for what they were. Stephen was especially concerned about the impending risk of further floods possibly washing away the remains, so he decided to collect them and keep them safe at his home.
He said: “There had been a weekend of heavy flooding so I went out to have a look to see if there was any damage anywhere. I was walking along and I saw what looked like a legbone sticking out, then when I looked down on the road I found an ulna [forearm], an arm bone and a collarbone.
“I couldn’t leave them there on the road sticking out, because they could end up being washed away in the next flood.”
He suspects that the flooding caused by the River Yeo, which had recently overflowed its banks, might have unearthed the bones from graves within St Mary’s Church cemetery, reports SomersetLive.
“I said ‘Christ alive’. I was fearful of walking a bit further along and seeing an actual skull looking out of the soil, I was really spooked. Because it’s a well used road right next to the church, I didn’t want anyone else picking them up and taking them away.”
After initially hiding the bones behind a gravestone, he followed police advice to keep the bones secure. “At first I hid them behind a gravestone in the churchyard, but the police said ‘keep them all together and keep them secure.'”
The cemetery also houses a Commonwealth War Grave, dedicated to Ordinary Seaman W J Pearce, who passed away on July 19, 1918. Stephen revealed that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is now initiating an investigation.
The parishioners are reportedly “totally shocked” by the sight of bones floating outside the church. Stephen shared: “[They said] ‘are you sure they’re not dog bones?’
“No, they are human. I know, I was in the army, I was in the Balkans, so I know exactly what I’m looking at. The older generation are really upset because some of them know people who are buried in the churchyard. They’ve noticed the flooding is getting worse and it’s getting longer.”