Officers investigating the discovery of human remains at a Darwen industrial estate have released an update confirming the bones belong to a man.

Detectives and forensics officers set up tents at the back of a row of industrial units in Marsh House Lane, where the human remains were found on land on Wednesday, February 7.

On Thursday last week, Lancashire Police confirmed it was investigating after the discovery of remains, but that enquiries were still in the early stages.

Today (Tuesday, February 13), police released an update, confirming the remains belonged to a man.

READ MORE: 'Avoid speculating' after 'human' remains found in Darwen

A spokesperson said: "You may have seen a police presence on the Marsh House Lane Industrial Estate in Darwen over recent days and we just wanted to give you the latest update in order to stop any speculation.

"We can confirm we have found what we believe to be the remains of a man.

"Although it will likely be a few months before we get a formal identification, the family of the man who we believe this to be have been informed of the development.

"Our thoughts are with them at this sad time.

"Our work is ongoing to establish the cause of the man’s death. However, it is not currently being treated as suspicious.

"We would like to thank members of the public who have come forward with information."

READ MORE: 'Human' remains found at industrial estate in Darwen

On Wednesday last week, a site worker confirmed to the Lancashire Telegraph he and a colleague uncovered the remains on Wednesday morning.

The worker, who did not wish to be named, said: “We were just clearing up and tidying up some rubbish at the back of the units, it was around 11am.

“I had a wheelbarrow and my colleague was digging and he said, ‘can you come and help me’, and he dug down and uncovered a skeleton.

“It was just the head and the torso, just covered over with some soil.

“We were shocked. We called the police straight away and they got here really quickly.

”We’ve no idea how long the remains have been there for. It was just such a shock for us.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 101, quoting log 558 of February 7.