SCENES of crime officers have begun the task of digging for human remains they believe are buried in a Southampton park.

Forensic experts spent yesterday working on a section of land at Riverside Park, Bitterne.

Police sealed off part of the recreation ground after receiving a tip-off that a body had been buried there, as revealed in yesterday's Daily Echo.

Corrugated metal screens had been erected around one part of the sealed off area.

A specially trained dog was also used throughout yesterday in a bid to locate the exact whereabouts of the remains they believe could be buried there.

Officers began packing up at about 5pm last night when the light began to fade but said they could not comment on whether the search had uncovered anything.

However, a spokeswoman confirmed that the search is expected to continue throughout the weekend during daylight hours.

The sealed-off area - close to the River Itchen - is estimated to be about an acre.

It is the same place where 70-year-old Dennis Tierney was left on a compost heap throughout the night after being attacked at knifepoint by robbers who stole £8.

Detectives leading the inquiry say it is not being linked to any on-going missing person or murder investigation.

Det Insp Nigel Niven said: "Riverside Park is a very busy one and we would like to thank the park users and general public for their understanding and co-operation.

"We have had supportive comments from people using the park and we also hope that our presence in the park will jog people's memory about Mr Tierney, who was attacked in the park last week.

"Of course we understand that there is interest in our activity here but at this stage we are not in a position to say any more."