Skull found in stream found to be concrete replica

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said "we are very happy to report that the skull was a concrete model"

A human skull found in a North Yorkshire stream turned out to be a concrete replica, much to the relief of the woman who discovered it.

Tara Ellis, 32, alerted police after spotting the object in a beck running alongside the Ropery car park in Pickering.

She told the BBC she and other onlookers had initially thought it was a football or a rock before they realised it was a skull.

North Yorkshire Police said it was "happy to report" that when officers retrieved the item it was found to be a model.

The skull was spotted in a beck running alongside the Ropery car park in Pickering.

Ms Ellis said: "As there was absolutely no way of knowing whether it was real or not I phoned 101 and reported it.

"I explained that as it was in the beck I was unable to retrieve it, but with hindsight its a good job I couldn't as had it have been real. I could have potentially have ruined any evidence

"I was a little shocked at first but curious more than anything. It isn't an everyday occurrence here in Pickering."

Ms Ellis said she had been "shocked at first but curious more than anything"

A police spokesperson said: "We retrieved the skull and I'm very happy to report that the skull was a concrete model, but as you can see it's quite realistic."

Ms Ellis said: "I was relieved that it was fake and didn't belong to someone's loved one. I don't know how or why it was there, but it was an interesting day to say the least."

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