There has been a significant police presence in a Cotswold village near the Wiltshire border after the discovery of ‘disturbed earth’ in a woodland.
Residents of Kemble, located just eight miles north of Malmesbury, have reported seeing officers in fields and on footpaths since last Friday (1 April).
Near Ewen Wharf Bridge, police cordoned off part of two fields over the weekend – leaving locals concerned about what they may be investigating.
On Tuesday (5 April), more than a dozen specially-trained search officers gathered in Kemble Railway Station car park alongside a police dog before heading out towards the village on the Thames Path – a route that continues along the Thames River all the way to London.
One resident said she was concerned it was linked to a historic murder in the village, where a young girl was found dead in a field near the same bridge and now-disused canal.
Gloucestershire Constabulary told Wiltshire 999s that they were responding to a report from a member of the public who raised concerns about an “area of land where the earth had been disturbed”.
The force launched a probe into the find, but did not say why they believed the disruption to the ground in a woodland in Kemble was a significant concern.
Excavation work was carried out by Gloucestershire Constabulary’s forensic investigations staff, supported by a team of specialist archaeologists on Tuesday.
Police have since established that there is “nothing to indicate any cause for concern” and officers have left the area.
