Bodies of hundreds of orphan children who died at a home run by Catholic nuns 'are found buried in a mass unmarked grave'

Hundreds of orphan children believed to have been dumped in a mass grave

They were residents of the Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, Scotland

Nuns previously acknowledged some children were buried in town's cemetery

But an investigation has revealed that hundreds of bodies were recovered

By SAM WALKER FOR THE SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 10:20 BST, 11 September 2017 | UPDATED: 10:27 BST, 11 September 2017

Up to 400 children who died at a Scottish orphanage are believed to have been dumped in a mass grave, research has revealed.

The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul ran the Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark from 1864 until it closed in 1981.

The nuns previously acknowledged that children had been buried in 158 compartments in the town's St Mary's Cemetery.

But a joint investigation by the BBC's File on Four programme and the Sunday Post newspaper has shown 402 children died at the orphanage.

It is thought that most were buried in an unmarked section at St Mary's.

Former First Minister Jack McConnell, who apologised on behalf of the Scottish Government to victims of care home abuse in 2004, said: 'After so many years of silence, we must now know the truth of what happened.'

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