An 88-year-old woman was horrified to learn that badgers had been repeatedly digging up human remains from a nearby church and leaving them in her garden.
Ann Mathers, who lives behind a cemetery in Dudley, said the badgers had been leaving skulls, femurs and jawbones for her to find in her garden after they gained access to the Providence Baptist Church.
It’s thought the badgers got into the graveyard via a public alleyway, which has since been shut.
When Anne first spotted the bones, she called her daughter Lorraine Lloyd crying hysterically.
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60-year-old Lorraine revealed police have now cordoned off her mum’s house and are treating the discovery as a crime scene.
Lorraine told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, as reported in the BBC: “We didn't realise how much worse the situation was going to get.
"Since then, she's been having femurs, skulls, the bottom part of a chin, jawbones, you name it, coming into the garden. What you see is people's families, people's loved ones, it's horrific."
According to Councillor Shaz Saleem, cabinet member for highways and public realm, the council has been working with the church to try and resolve the badger problem.
Councillor Shaz explained: “As badgers are a protected species, we are in the process of obtaining the services of a qualified ecologist to help us further."
Last year, badgers in Birmingham left locals horrified when they started digging up dead people’s remains at a cemetery.
Birmingham Live reported last August that a man went to Yardley Cemetery to visit a family member’s grave, only to find bones scattered over ‘open ground’.
Michael Saunders told the outlet that he found the scene so distressing he had reconsidered placing his mum Dorothy’s ashes in his family’s grave at Yardley Cemetery.
Michael said at the time: “It is horrendous. I brought the problem to light a year ago, but it’s now gone to another level.
“The badgers have now dug down so deep they are rooting up the bones. There are bones scattered on the ground, joints even. Obviously, the coffins have degraded, but they are getting to the bones.”
The 63-year-old added: “It is appalling. I don’t know what is going to be dug up next. It is very distressing. I’d like the [grave] to be relocated. The cemetery staff are aware of this and I’ve contacted my local MP Jess Phillips.”
LADbible has contacted West Midlands Police for comment.
Aisha Nozari