Detectives believe human bones found in woodland belonged to a young woman and had been there for less than 18 months.

Children playing in woodland in the Queensway area of Hastings, East Sussex, found a human skull, Sussex Police said.

Further forensic searches revealed other bones, including a pelvic bone and fibia, which were discovered near each other and did not appear to have been buried.

Detectives said the bones are understood to belong to a woman who was in her mid-teens to early 20s.

Police said they are keeping an "open mind" about the discoveries until after a post-mortem examination is conducted. Further forensic searches will also continue at the scene.

"There will be a post-mortem but it is too early to speculate as to the cause of death," said Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert, of Sussex Police's major crime branch.

"The key priority at this time is to establish the identity of the woman. Once we know who she is, we need to contact her family and establish the circumstances as to how she came to be where she is.

"This is an unusual set of circumstances. We are treating her death as unexplained. This is going to be a protracted investigation involving a dedicated team in Hastings."

He appealed for anyone with information to contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070 999, quoting Operation Holbrook.

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