Garden Searched for Children's Remains

Police are searching for human remains at a south London house where a convicted paedophile once lived.
Officers acted on an anonymous letter claiming remains linked to events more than 30 years ago were buried there.

A forensic archaeologist is among a team which will dig up the garden in Walton Green in New Addington, Croydon.
The paedophile, Leslie Ford-Thrussell, 72, is currently serving a 12-year jail term for 36 offences including seven counts of rape.
Among the offences was one count of gross indecency with a child.

Ford-Thrussell, who was convicted in 2004, also admitted to taking and making obscene images.

Police said he had not been questioned about the latest investigation.

The search led by Croydon CID began on Monday.

So far no arrests have been made, but police said the author of the letter had been identified.

Next-door neighbour and mother-of-two Nicola Nunn said she had thought Ford-Thrussell was a "very friendly, nice old man".
"We obviously knew about his conviction but this is something else altogether," she said. "I think about my two babies and it just scares me."

The most recent tenants moved out about three months ago leaving the council-owned property empty. They are not connected to the operation, police said.

Officers delivered leaflets to local people informing them the operation may take several days, offering reassurance and asking them to contact police with any concerns.

Scotland Yard would not confirm what specialist equipment would be used in the survey, expected to begin on Wednesday morning.

A police spokesman stated, "The Metropolitan Police has wide experience of serious crime investigation and access to a diverse range of specialist support, internally and externally."