A mass grave of babies has been discovered in a British cemetery just meters from where 300 bodies were discovered earlier this year.
The second unmarked grave was identified in Royton Cemetery in the Greater Manchester area, next to the cemetery chapel.
Oldham Council has confirmed his identification, although it is unclear how many bodies the plot contains.
The discovery was made during a candlelight vigil held last Sunday, December 15, in memory of the children discovered in the first unmarked grave.
The discovery of that first mass grave occurred in September, with the remains of 145 babies, 128 children and 29 adults found.
Records show that the first grave, designated 1A-360, contains not only stillborn babies but also babies and children who died days, weeks, months and years after their birth. Adults up to 74 years old are also buried in the tomb.
An attendee at the vigil approached local councilor Maggie Hurley on Sunday night and informed her of the location of the second plot after having tracked down the remains of a family member.
Speaking to LDRS, Councilor Hurley stated: ‘We’ve just found another one. “This is a social injustice on a scale I could never have imagined.”
A second unmarked mass grave has been discovered in Royton Cemetery in Greater Manchester.
Earlier this year, 300 bodies were discovered in the same Manchester cemetery.
A spokesperson for Oldham Council said the communal site, known historically as the “poor graves” and more recently as the “local authority burial grounds”, was known to the council.
The Council is also providing support to affected families with a dedicated hotline set up for people to call.
Benches and memorial plaques will be erected at both mass graves to commemorate those buried there, Royton Council said.
Following the discovery of the first plot, which measured just 12ft by 12ft, local councilors expressed their belief that it may not be the only one in Royton Cemetery.
Before the 1980s it was common practice to separate stillborn babies from their parents without giving further details about where they were buried.
Instead, medical staff told the grieving parents that their son was buried next to a “good person” that same day. However, babies were often buried in mass graves.
Over the past 20 years, mass graves of babies have been found across the UK.
A number of mass graves for stillborn babies have recently been found in places including Wirral, Huddersfield, Lancashire, Devon and Middlesbrough.