In response to various questions being asked regarding police activity in and around Pentylands Country Park in Highworth, Detective Superintendent Jeremy Carter, Head of Crime at Wiltshire Police has made the following statement:
Following information from a member of the public regarding a small area of land at Pentylands Country Park in Highworth, we began to make local enquiries on Friday (22/2).
These enquiries included the use of specially trained search dogs from Devon and Cornwall Police.
Following the use of these dogs, additional specially trained search teams were deployed to the area. The work over the weekend involved preparing a small area for excavation work to commence today.
This has also included the removal of shrubs to allow better access to the area.
Although excavation work has only just begun, it is important to stress that nothing, so far, has been located in the area.
The cordon is likely to remain in place for some time and the local community will see an increased police presence in the area.
We are aware there has been a lot of speculation as to what these enquiries might be linked to but it is important to stress that it is too early to make such links. As previously stated, we are keeping an open mind as to whether or not this matter is connected to any previous inquiry or case.
We appreciate this work might be disruptive for local people and we would like to thank them for their patience. This is painstaking work but we will do it as quickly as possible and with minimal disruption.
In the meantime, if you have any information which may help us with this enquiry, please contact us on 101.
