Call for ‘body farm’ in UK to help police solve murder cases

A facility for research into decay process in British conditions would help detectives find missing bodies

Forensic scientists are holding detailed talks with the government about setting up Britain's first body farm, where researchers would study decomposing human corpses.

The aim would be to understand the precise manner in which cadavers decay in water or in soil or in open air. The US has several such centres, which have waiting lists of people who have left their bodies to forensic science. Their corpses are buried, hung from trees or immersed in water and analysed in detail to understand how they break down in different conditions. However, geographical conditions in America are very different from Britain's, so researchers want to establish a centre here.