Body found inside underground cave in Hangman’s Woods, Essex

Police have found a body in an ancient cave in Essex.

A passerby walking through Hangman’s Woods in Grays called the police on Tuesday afternoon after spotting a body hidden in a chalk cave, known as a denehole.

The underground pits known for mining during medieval times had been turned into a hibernation area for bats and were no longer open to the public.

Detective Inspector Lydia George said: ‘Utilising specialist equipment and skills and working with our partners, we recovered a body yesterday.

‘Work is underway to establish who they are and the circumstances around how they came to be in the deneholes and how they died.

‘I want to thank the community around this area for their support, particularly local businesses who kindly provided refreshments.

‘We will provide further information as and when we are able to.’

The deneholes in Hangman’s Woods are considered the best preserved set in existence and are a Scheduled Monument. They consist of vertical shafts through sand with branching chambers cut into the chalk.

These deneholes are particularly deep, with shafts reaching more than 20meters deep before they reach chalk.

Most of the deneholes have been infilled, but the ones still open have been fenced off, as it is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for the bat colony which roosts there.

Generally there is no public access allowed to the deneholes, but it is possible to request access from the council.

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