The mystery of the human bones unearthed near St Clears has been solved.

The thigh bone and other remains, which sparked a major police investigation last week, have been identified as medical specimens.

As the Western Telegraph reported, the discovery was made on land in Lower St Clears during work to lay the natural gas pipeline serving the Milford Haven LNG terminal.

Police said a Home Office pathologist and a forensic anthropologist confirmed the bones are "former anatomical specimens used in the medical profession."

A spokeswoman added: "They were likely to have been used by a medical practitioner or student some time during the 1940s, and may have been deposited with rubbish at the site."

Holes drilled in the smaller bones, which would have held connecting wires, gave the clue to the medical use.

The bones were discovered in a metre-wide trench, 40 metres long, in the centre of a field near Gwaefi Farm, close to the St Clears Boating Club. It is known that an informal rubbish dump existed in the area, and artefacts relating to the 1950s were found in the trench.

Police, who made house-to-house enquiries in the St Clears and Laugharne areas, are now satisfied the bones are not connected with any criminal activity, but would still be interested in finding out their origins.

The spokeswoman added: "We would like to thank members of the public and the media for assisting in bringing this puzzle to a satisfactory conclusion."