News

POLICE will be closing some roads in Silkstone tomorrow and Friday after being instructed by the coroner to exhume the body of a woman buried in the graveyard.

A police spokesman said there will be no vehicle or pedestrian access to Barnsley Road between Silkstone Lane and Vicarage Farm Court between midday Thursday (October 25) and Friday evening.

A spokesman said: "The road will be closed to allow South Yorkshire Police, at the request of the Coroner, to exhume the body of a woman buried in the graveyard at All Saints and St James Church, Silkstone.

"The exhumation is taking place as part of an ongoing investigation to establish the cause of death of the woman who died in 2011.

"The post-mortem conducted following the woman’s death was unable to provide an explanation for the cause of death.

"Following the exhumation, a forensic post-mortem will be carried out."

The All Saints and St James Church and its grounds will be closed to allow the exhumation to take place.

The police spokesman added: "An area of the graveyard close to Barnsley Road will be cordoned off and a forensic tent will be erected over the grave.

"The grave subject to exhumation will be screened from any public view.

"The decision to exhume the body has been taken with the full support of the family."

The woman was in her early 30s when she died but she has not been identified by police at the request of her family.