A body has been found in the search for the two-month-old baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, police have said.

Specialist teams have today been scouring parkland around a mile from where Dorset aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon were arrested as the desperate search for their missing baby continued.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford from the Metropolitan Police, who led the investigation, told reporters in a press conference this evening that remains had been found in a wooded area.

The couple were arrested on Monday in Brighton after avoiding police for more than seven weeks but were without their child.

They refused to tell police where the baby was, sparking a massive hunt across a wide area of the Sussex countryside.

More than 200 officers and specialist search teams scoured the area around Stanmer Villas, where the couple were finally caught after a tip-off from a member of the public.

They were arrested on suspicion of child neglect, and later on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

The couple remain in custody after police were granted a 36-hour custody extension by Brighton magistrates.

Speaking to reporters at Sussex Police headquarters on Wednesday evening, Mr Basford said: "It is my very sad duty to update this afternoon, police officers searching a wooded area close to where Constance and Mark Gordon were arrested discovered the remains of a baby.

"A post-mortem examination will be held in due course.

"A crime scene is in place and work at the location is expected to continue for some time.

"This is an outcome that myself and that many officers who have been part of this search had hoped would not happen.

"I recognise the impact this news will have on many people who have been following this story closely and can assure them that we will do everything we possibly can to establish what has happened."

Hundreds of police officers and search and rescue experts searched 90 square miles of the Sussex countryside in a bid to find the baby, who had not had any medical attention since being born in a car in Bolton on January 5.

Metropolitan and Sussex police used helicopters, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and drones.

Marten, 35, who comes from an aristocratic family with royal connections, first went missing with boyfriend Mr Gordon, 48, when their car was found abandoned and on fire at the edge of the M61 on January 5.

From there they travelled around the country by taxi, avoiding police by paying for everything in cash, covering their faces while on CCTV and moving locations frequently, often after dark.

They were finally arrested in Brighton on Monday, minutes after a member of the public tipped off police, but their baby was not with them.