First body exhumed in deaths probe

Nellie "Mary" Pickford, 89, was the first of three former residents at Parkfields residential home, in Somerset, to be dug up for signs of drug poisoning.

Officers worked through the night to exhume the pensioner's body. Her remains were finally removed from Glastonbury cemetery as dawn broke, just before 6am on Wednesday.

Pathologists were seen arriving at the scene shortly before the coffin emerged from a white marquee erected over Mrs Pickford's grave.

Six forensic officers, dressed in yellow overalls, then emerged with a pale wooden outer coffin shortly after sunrise.

Mrs Pickford's coffin was securely exhumed and then transferred into a new, larger, coffin. The coffin was then placed on a trolley and escorted by six police officers in protective clothing to a waiting hearse.

The exhumation was presided over by three Church of England vicars, who said prayers during the operation, which started just after midnight.

Police are investigating the alleged poisoning of seven elderly residents at Parkfields, in the village of Butleigh.

The home's former managers, Rachel and Leigh Baker, were arrested following the death of 97-year-old Lucy Cox on New Year's Day.

Detective Inspector Ben Batley said: "The exhumation went according to plan and there were no complications." Mrs Pickford's remains will now undergo a forensic post mortem examination. Toxicology tests will then take place following the post mortem examination.