The man who discovered the suspected severed human leg in a Rush Green park lake has told of his shock at making the gruesome discovery.
The resident, who did not want to be named, said he was called over to White Hart Lakes, in The Chase nature reserve, by a fisherman, who had seen “something unusual”.
He said: “I got there and this thing that looked like part of a pig was lying on the verge half out of the water but I couldn’t tell what it was so I got a stick and flipped it over to find hair and a tattoo on the other side. It was disgusting.
“The stench of rotting flesh was really strong – a couple of the people there were heaving. It looked as if it had been crudely hacked at with a saw.”
The leg was discovered at about 6pm yesterday and parts of the park remain sealed off to the public as murder detectives investigate.
Police divers have been searching water today.
Local fisherman had seen unusual objects in the water days previous to the discovery according to witnesses at the scene who said: “A few people mentioned noticing something odd in the water a few days ago but made nothing of it.”
Murder detectives have told the family of missing father-of-two Neill Buchel about the find - less than two miles from the place where the 39-year-old was last seen on Thursday, March 13.
Lead investigator in the case Det Ch Insp Chris Jones said it was “too early to confirm” if the find was relevant to his investigation but made an appeal for anglers to come forward with any information.
The body part is currently undergoing forensic analysis.
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