Ex-care resident makes abuse claims

Peter Hannaford spent the first 12 years of his life at Haut de la Garenne, which is now at the centre of a major child abuse investigation.

The 59-year-old said he was abused almost every night and so were many other children. Mr Hannaford claims the abuse was carried out by both male and female members of staff and the building should be knocked down and "erased from people's memories" when the police investigation finishes.

Detectives leading the inquiry into alleged abuse at the home have spoken to 140 victims and witnesses about allegations dating back 40 years.

Officers said since they went public with the case, a further 10 people had come forward claiming they were victims and the NSPCC had received 63 calls from people claiming to have been abused. Twenty-seven cases were referred to the police.

A spokesperson for Jersey police could not say whether Mr Hannaford, who still lives on the island, was part of the inquiry as they could not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Mr Hannaford told the Jersey Evening Post: "Boys and girls were abused while I was there. The abuse was anything from rape and torture, it happened every night."

Excavation work by forensic teams at the Haut de la Garenne was suspended on Tuesday for a structural survey to be carried out.

Police are focusing on a bricked-up cellar after the discovery on Saturday of a child's skull. It is understood that work cannot start on the cellar until the survey is completed.

Forensic teams are searching seven sites after a sniffer dog specially trained to find human remains indicated a number of areas. They were alerted to the home following a child abuse investigation involving allegations mainly from the 1970s and 1980s when the centre was a home for children with behaviour problems.