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Sheep's lungs found floating in mills lodge

13/ 6/2008

A PHOTOGRAPHER made a shock discovery at the Oswaldtwistle Mills lodge – a pair of SHEEP’S LUNGS with the gullet attached floating in the water.

John Mullen, of Foxhill Terrace, Oswaldtwistle, was snapping carp and swans at the Clifton Mill lodge during a charity afternoon on Sunday when he spotted the organs.

He said: "I saw what I thought was a dead skate, which I thought was a bit odd, skate being a salt water fish.

"Thankfully the people who were enjoying a lovely day at the Carers Link garden party were totally unaware of it.

"At first I was concerned that the lungs might be human, but I have been told that they are sheep’s lungs. I wasn’t surprised when I heard. Nothing that people dump shocks me any more.

"The lungs were discreetly removed from the lodge by one of the staff from Oswaldtwistle Mills before anybody else saw them."

Police confirmed that an officer attended the scene following a call from a member of the public.

Boyd Hargreaves, director of Oswaldtwistle Mills, said: "Someone had dumped the lungs in a carrier bag and they were found by a member of staff while carrying out a daily check of the grounds.

"We have a butcher on site who quickly told us what they were."