Human remains that were found in a field near Truro are thought to be that of a missing Cornish man.

Bones of a man aged 40 years or over were found by a member of the public in a field near the A390, at Woodcock Corner. They are thought to have been there for at least six months.

Police spokesman Baxter Provan said that officers were following a line of inquiry.

"They will be carrying out DNA checks to carry out a formal identification of the deceased," he said.

He added that it was thought the bones could be those of a missing Cornish man - not necessarily originating from the Truro area - although this could not be confirmed until after the formal identification had been completed. The family of the man has been informed of the developments.

The bones were found by a member of the public who was checking on drainage problems in the field, following the heavy rain during the days before.

Police received a call at 4.15pm last Thursday and immediately cordoned off the area. However, due to darkness falling soon after, only a preliminary search of the area was made.

Officers remained at the field overnight, to stop the scene from being tampered with, with inquiries beginning in full at first light the next day. At that time it had not been confirmed whether the bones were that of a human, although this was confirmed later that morning by a pathologist.

Sand and gravel was delivered to the area overnight, to make access to the area easier following the bad weather over the previous few days.

Scenes of crime staff and criminal investigation department officers have been allocated to the incident, with the investigations being led by Detective Chief Inspector Martin Orpe, who is based at Bodmin but is a senior investigating officer for the whole county.