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Two severed legs found in Australia rubbish dump

The legs were believed to have been 'surgically removed'

Matt Payton
Thursday 18 February 2016 13:03 GMT
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Summerhill Waste Management Centre in Newcastle, New South Wales
Summerhill Waste Management Centre in Newcastle, New South Wales

A pair of severed legs cut below the knee have been found poking out of a pile of rubbish at an Australian waste management centre.

New South Wales police believe the legs found at the facility were "surgically removed and may have ended up there by mistake".

The legs were found along with medical waste disposed of at a rubbish dump near Newcastle, a town 100 miles north of Sydney.

The limbs showed little signs of decomposition despite being buried under rubbish for six weeks.

It is thought the legs could belong to a cadaver rather than a patient, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The police now believe the legs were "legitimately removed" and are working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discover what happened.

An EPA spokeswoman said: "The EPA is working with police to investigate the inappropriate disposal of clinical waste at Summerhill Waste Management Centre."

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