Blood found in Jersey care home 'torture chamber' at the centre of child abuse investigation

Specially-trained police dogs detected traces of blood yesterday morning in the underground chamber at Haut de la Garenne.

The discovery appears to confirm the claims of 100 people who said they were victims of sexual and physical abuse at the home.

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The two spots of blood were found in a concrete bath in the cellar - the first of two to be excavated at the home after the remains of a child were found buried in a stairwell last month.

Samples of the blood have been sent for forensic tests.

The findings came as a former resident of the 'Colditz' home named the superintendent in charge, Colin Tilbrook, as the ringleader of the torture in the 1960s.

Alan O'Neil, 50, has told how he was abused by Tilbrook.

"He would put you in a potato sack - I was submerged in a bathtub of water where he tried to drown me.

"I was eight when it started. He used to beat me with a bamboo stick then fondle me and sexually abuse me. Then he would put you in the punishment room under the building. I was physically, sexually and mentally tortured and I have never been able to recover."

Speaking from his home in Thailand, he also said the married Tilbrook would rape young girls.

Mr O'Neil later reported the abuse during his time at the home from 1965 to 1972 to a children's officer, but he says his claims were not taken seriously.

"I saw a lot of terrible things, but the States of Jersey did nothing. It was all covered up," he said.

Tilbrook, who became a children's social worker in Dorset, died 20 years ago aged 62 from a heart attack.

Mr O'Neil's claims of a cover-up were supported by paedophile investigator Bob McLachlan.

Formerly Scotland Yard's top paedophile investigator, Mr MCLachlan moved to the island ten years ago before retiring in 2002.

He says he offered his expertise to Jersey's Health Ministry twice, but was turned down.

He said: "The police failed to investigate child abuse properly. It wasn't a proper crime like armed robbery."