On the scene of Mepal quarry, Block Fen Drove, Fenland, where a human head was discovered yesterday afternoon

Mick George Quarry Block Fen Mepal. Picture: Steve Williams. (Image: Archant)

Driving towards Mepal Quarry, in between Chatteris and Ely, a man in a workshop on-route informs us that he saw a police car go towards the Mick George site nearer the pits. The site is located at Witcham Meadlands, Block Fen, Mepal, Cambridgeshire and is situated close to Block Fen Activity Lakes.

However, after following it all the way down, two Mick George staff members in shirts and ties tell us that they don’t know anything and instruct us to turn around and leave the land. It all seems a bit too secretive to be true.

Regional and national journalists, TV crews and photographers soon start driving towards the scene, only to be told the same thing.

All of the press then stay gathered at the front gates of Block Fen Activity Lakes, waiting eagerly for police.

It doesn’t seem as though the incident has affected Mick George lorries from going about their work as we watch more than a dozen make their way down the dusty track – some warning press to move their cars.

Shortly, though, one police car – without its sirens or flashing lights on – passes us and heads straight towards the Mick George site, where we were earlier told nothing had happened…

Waiting on the side, parked up next to the gate of Block Fen fishing lakes, there are lots of murmurings and debate amongst the journalists. But nothing really seems to be happening.

Instead, using information from an Ordinance Survey Map, photographer Steve notices that there may be another way to get closer to the site.

After making the risky decision to leave the cohort of press, we head down the windy, uneven roads past Langwood Hill Drove in order to get a closer view of the Mick George site.

There, we get a much better picture of the quarry that is behind the gates, but still no sign of police...

Officers were called at about 3pm yesterday afternoon after a worker at the quarry in Block Fen Drove made the discovery.

Police have now switched their inquiries to Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire “as we believe this is where the remains may have come from”.

Detective Inspector Jerry Waite, from the Beds, Cambs and Herts Major Crime Unit (MCU), said: “We are conducting inquiries both locally and across the county borders, and would urge anyone with information about the finding to contact us.

“At this stage we do not know if the head is male or female, however we have got officers carrying out searches at a site in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, as we believe this is where the remains may have come from.”

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police stressed the discovery was a head - not a skull - and that the remains have been passed to the coroner for post mortem.

A spokesman for Mick George Ltd told the BBC: “We are working closely with the police and providing them with all the information they need to undertake their investigations.

“At this point we can not provide any further comments.”

What happens at the Mick George site?

Mick George Ltd is one of the leading suppliers to the construction industry in East Anglia and the East Midlands, specialising in providing bulk excavation and earthmoving, aggregate supply and waste management.

Mick George quarries sand, gravel and other aggregates and the pits are owned by Hanson Aggregates.

The company has quarries, landfill sites and waste transfer stations spread across the region including at Earith, Huntingon, Peterborough, Somersham, St Ives and Wimblington.

Mick George operates non-hazardous and hazardous sites which are used only when a recycling option is not available. Over 90 per cent of the waste handled is diverted from landfill.

Professional, trained operatives sort and treat hazardous waste to eliminate the risk to human health and the environment.

Waste is brought into Mick George’s transfer stations for segregating, picking, bulking, bailing, shredding, crushing and recycling to avoid landfill.