Gilmerton dad thought he dug up a child’s remains during lockdown DIY job only to discover it was a buried pet dog

An Edinburgh dad discovered what be believed to be a child’s remains when tackling a lockdown DIY job in his garden – but found out after forensic officers arrived it was a buried pet dog.

The dog had been a pet of the previous owner and passed away 20 years ago

The Scottish Sun reported that around a dozen police including three wearing forensic suits and bone identification experts spent several hours at the house in Gilmerton examining the skeletal remains on 28 May.

It was reported that detectives were even on the point of calling a crime scene photographer to the house.

The resident had made the gruesome discovery when he was preparing his back garden for laying turf. He dug down and hit a bag around one square metre in size with a split down one side, which revealed the bones.

However, the alert was called off after a cop tracked down the previous resident who he revealed he had buried his pooch in a bag in the garden two decades ago.

The present occupier, 40, said: “I was really shocked — it’s not what you would expect to unearth in your back garden. It wasn’t enough bones for an adult but I thought it could be a buried child or an animal so we called the police.

"Then cops started coming and going and they were planning on getting a forensic tent and a crime scene photographer.

“But after a few hours we were told it was all okay.

“They said they had tracked down the previous owner who said he had laid his dog to rest in the garden.

“It was pretty scary when all these police started turning up and we were told to stay inside the house. It was fortunate that they managed to solve the mystery pretty quickly.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers were made aware of the discovery of bones in the rear garden of a property in Gilmerton, Edinburgh on Thursday, May 28.

“Following expert assessment the bones were identified as animal remains.”