Somerset Farmer Finds Human Remains Outside Flooded Churchyard

A farmer found bones near a flooded churchyard. Stephen Bartlett, 61, made the discovery in Mudford, near Yeovil. He walked by his local church and saw the remains on the road.

Stephen, a retired soldier, recognized them as human. He found them January 29 and worried about them washing away. Stephen gathered up the bones and took them home.

He saw a leg bone sticking out. An ulna, an arm bone, and a collarbone were also there. The bones were on the road.

Stephen couldn’t leave them there. Another flood could wash them away.

Stephen thinks they’re from St Mary’s Church graves because the River Yeo flooded the area, and the churchyard was waterlogged. He believes graves were disturbed.

He was very spooked by this situation and didn’t want to see a skull or for others to take them, as the road is well used by people.

First, he hid them near a gravestone. The police told him to keep them secure and to keep all the bones together.

A War Grave exists there too. Ordinary Seaman W J Pearce died in 1918. The War Graves Commission is investigating.

Parishioners are shocked by the discovery. Some asked if they were dog bones.

Stephen confirmed they are human. He served in the army and knows human bones from his time in the Balkans. Older people are upset, as they know people buried there. The flooding gets worse and also lasts longer now.