Two more held in Jersey abuse probe

A 70-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman are being questioned by officers, Jersey Police said. The man and woman were arrested by police investigating a number of criminal assaults on children that took place in the 1960s and 1970s.

A spokeswoman said the arrests are connected to Haut De La Garenne, but it is not alleged that the crimes took place at the home.

The arrests bring the total number of people arrested as part of the island abuse probe to six.

Earlier this month a 50-year-old ex-police officer was held on suspicion of "serious crimes" at the home and elsewhere in Jersey. He was released pending further inquiries.

It is understood he is a former Jersey police officer who worked as a volunteer at the home before leaving the force to work with the Jersey children's service.

Haut de la Garenne is at the centre of one of Britain's biggest ever abuse investigations where more than 100 people claim they were abused.

Police have excavated four secret underground chambers at the building, referred to as punishment rooms by some victims, and have found shackles, a large blood-stained bath and children's teeth.

So far 26 teeth have been found in the cellars and one was located in a cistern in the courtyard. Police said tests on the teeth revealed that most were "very unlikely to have come out naturally before death".

Police said there are more than 40 suspects.