Bones found by gold panners in Dumfries & Galloway

A HUMAN skull has been found in a stream near a former cemetery in Dumfries and Galloway.

The men were panning for gold in the burn when they found the human remains. Picture: TSPL

Two men, who were panning for gold at the time of the discovery, found a skull and part of a femur as they worked in the burn on Sunday morning.

Police cordoned off the area, around a mile from Wanlockhead in Dumfries and Galloway, and found another bone.

It is thought they may come from paupers’ graves outside the nearby Meadowfoot Cemetery, which dates back to 1751.

Heavy rain in recent weeks has caused erosion and the bones may have been washed into the burn.

The gold panners, from the Hampshire area, reported their discovery to the Wanlockhead Museum of Lead Mining, which called police.

The bones were examined and found to be very old, police said.