Police officers from Northern Ireland are now in the holiday island of Jersey where they are preparing to help search a second cellar at the former care home which is at the centre of child abuse allegations.

The search - in this second location - is expected to take several days with a number of extra officers, including these officers from the PSNI, being drafted in to help with the ongoing investigation.

The investigation, which is being led by former RUC officer, Lenny Harper - who is now Deputy Chief Police Officer in Jersey - has already involved a sniffer dog, which is trained to detect human bones.

It gave a positive indication when it was taken into the room at the Haut de la Garenne building on Monday.

The dog's reaction could mean that there are more human remains at the site, although it is not regarded as being conclusive by police.

A child's skull was found in the building on February 23. It has not yet been confirmed whether the remains, believed to date back to the early 1980s, are male or female.

Blood samples, which were found in a bath in the first cellar, were also sent for DNA testing.

Bones have also been found at the site, but it is not yet known if they are human or animal.

The investigation at the building, which closed as a care home in 1986 and was later turned into a youth hostel, is being searched as part of an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in Jersey, dating back to the 1960s.

Around 160 people have claimed that they were abused at the home, during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

The main focus of the search has been in the building's cellar, where four bricked-up chambers were discovered. It is understood that witnesses and alleged victims have described the rooms and claimed that they were used as "punishment rooms".

Graffiti saying: "I've been bad for years and years" was found in the first cellar room to be examined. A number of items, reported to include shackles, have also been removed from the building.

On Monday, it was reported that police were expecting to make three arrests in the case over the next fortnight. Up to 25 people are suspected of being involved in sexual and physical abuse at the home.

(KMcA)