The discovery of human remains in Westcliff sparked a potential murder investigation until the "victim" was found to have been dead for more than 100 years.

Southend police were alerted to the discovery of human bones on Tuesday while workmen carried out digging on sections of pavement and highway at Chalkwell Esplanade.

However, within a short time it was found that the bones were more likely to be of historical interest than relevant to criminal investigations.

A police spokesman said: "A human femur was found along with some smaller bones. A specialist Home Office pathologist was brought in to examine them and they were found to be more than 100 years old.

"It was very quickly established, however, in these sorts of instances, we always need to treat anything like that as a potential investigation from the outset."

Any steps to conclusively identify the person to whom the bones belonged could be difficult, police said.

Published Friday, March 15, 2002