POLICE launched an investigation after workmen uncovered human remains among dense undergrowth at a derelict property in Bournemouth.

The grisly discovery was made as the men were clearing trees and shrubs from the development site in Nelson Road, Westbourne, earlier this week.

They reported their discovery to the police, who cordoned off the area.

Forensic experts were brought in to examine the scene and the skeletal remains of a man were later removed to a mortuary.

A post-mortem examination was carried out yesterday to try and establish a cause of death, but the results were inconclusive.

The bones were found at 10.50am on Tuesday, November 1 at the bottom of the overgrown garden of the dilapidated Victorian property opposite the railway maintenance depot.

The site is close to the house in Ipswich Road from which Veronica Packman went missing in 1985.

Her husband, Russell Causley, is serving a life sentence for murder but her body has never been found.

Det Chief Inspector Neil Redstone of Bournemouth CID said the skeleton had been confirmed as male. "Work is going on in order to identify who it is. We have some ideas, but we can't confirm it at the moment.

"At this stage, the death is not being treated as suspicious," he said.

The house has not been lived in for several years and the garden and drive had become choked with brambles and other vegetation.

First published: November 3, 2005