THE mystery surrounding the origins of a human skull found in woods continues.

Dog walkers Elaine and Mick Hill stumbled upon the gruesome discovery as they exercised their pet in Spa Woods, near Hapton.

They said they believed the skull, which was recovered from Green Brook, could have been washed out of the former Hapton colliery after several days of heavy rain, and could belong to a miner who perished down there.

But Burnley historian Jack Nadin, who has been studying the history of mining in the area for the past 20 years, has offered another possible explanation.

He said it would be impossible for the skull to belong to a miner, despite an explosion in the mine in 1962, which killed 19 people.

Mr Nadin said: “All of the bodies of those who died in the disaster were excavated.

“The woods are in close proximity to the cemetery and at the bottom of it are lots of old Victorian graves.

“I would expect it belongs to someone local buried there – I don’t think it has come very far, but we will have to wait until the carbon dating has been done.

“It would be interesting if it was a murder victim but I don’t know how we would prove it was.”

Hapton Cemetery opened in 1854 and carbon dating tests will be able to prove if the person to whom the skull belongs died before this date.