A specialist search dog used by police looking for bodies at a Jersey children's home showed an "extremely strong reaction" when it was sent into a bricked-up area of the building today, police said today.
The development raised the prospect of more bodies being discovered at the site.
The dog was sent into a bricked-up room in the cellar of the Haut de la Garenne building. Jersey deputy police chief Lenny Harper said the animal's response was similar to when a child's skull was found at the premises on Saturday.
Lenny Harper (right), the Deputy Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police and a colleague take equipment into a tent in the grounds of the Haut de la Garenne Youth Hostel near St Martin in Jersey
Mr Harper said police had found another room that had been bricked up to seal it off. The room was about 12 feet square — a similar size to the cellar, he said.
"There is another room of the same size that appears to have been bricked up," he said. "Some of the bricking-up appears suspicious but there could be an innocent explanation for it."
Detectives launched an inquiry into Haut de la Garenne after accusations of violent and sexual abuse dating back to the 1960s. The main focus of the investigation centres on allegations of events in the 1970s and 1980s.
When the building was used as a care home, former residents have claimed they were raped, drugged and flogged.
Former resident Cyril Turner (48) said he managed to escape the abuse at Haut de la Garenne by climbing through a window.
The father of four, who stayed at the home for a few weeks, said when children went missing, staff claimed they had "run off and emigrated". He said: "There were a lot of kids and there were always rumours that someone had run away."
Since the discovery of a skull on Saturday, officers have not ruled out finding more bodies. The bricked-up area entered today is one of a number of sites being looked at by police after being identified by sniffer dogs trained to find human remains.
Scores of former residents have come forward with allegations against former staff at the centre since the police probe was launched. The NSPCC said today that it had received more than 100 calls from adults reporting allegations of childhood physical, sexual and emotional abuse in Jersey.
More than one-third of these calls were made in the last two days and 45 have been referred to the States of Jersey Police, the charity said.
Mr Harper said the force was making inquiries to try to find a set of shackles mentioned by victims which they believe have been removed from the building.
He said the first look at the room "certainly corroborates" what some of the victims were claiming. Police have received more than 70 calls in the past few days, some of whom have mentioned the cellar.
"The initial look at what's in there certainly corroborates some of the victims," he said. "I don't wish to elaborate on what's in there at the moment."
He said many victims who had contacted police were still traumatised by what happened. "These are very, very traumatic events in their lives. Some people who have contacted us in the last few days say they were uneager to contact us because of the memories they might have."
Meanwhile, police on the British mainland have reopened an investigation into claims of abuse at a children's home in the south of England after a new allegation emerged in light of the Jersey inquiry.
Hampshire Police said it is making "initial inquiries" after a man came forward with claims concerning the now closed Children's Cottage Home which used to be based in Portsmouth.
A Hampshire Police spokesman said the force was aware of the "perceived connections" between the Jersey inquiry and Operation Corolla which was the investigation into allegations of abuse in Portsmouth.
A 10-month police investigation was closed in 1996 without any charges because 17 of the alleged abusers had died and it was decided there was not enough evidence to prosecute the remaining three.
Detective Inspector John Geden said: "I will be conducting a review of material from the previous investigation, and ensure that any material appropriate will be forwarded to the investigation team in Jersey.
"At this moment it is not believed that there are any connections to be made between this review and the case currently ongoing in Jersey."
A total of 21 men and women have previously told detectives they suffered physical and sexual abuse at the Children's Cottage Home in Cosham, mostly in the 1950s.
The Crown Prosecution Service examined allegations against the centre last year and decided there was insufficient evidence to proceed.
PA