Human remains found under St Mary’s House patio in Hemel Hempstead

Human remains have been found under the patio of a sheltered housing site.

Hertfordshire Police was called to St Mary’s House, Hemel Hempstead, on Thursday after the remains were discovered by builders digging up the patio.

The force said officers were making inquiries as to why the remains, which they said were “very old”, were at the site.

The Abbeyfield Society, which runs the sheltered housing site, wrote in a letter to residents that the remains were “estimated to have been there many, many years”.

It added that building work had been paused while it waited for forensic teams to visit the site.

The house was built in the 18th Century but the building and attached stables were later converted into flats and bungalows.

It is now a sheltered housing site, with a mixture of rooms, flats and bungalows, for people over the age of 55.