Human bone found in socks bought from Primark

A human bone found in a pair of socks purchased from Primark's Colchester store is not believed to have been the result of a recent trauma, police have said.

The socks were purchased from the store on 10 December and the matter was reported to Essex police on 2 January, the Press Association has reported.

“The bone does not appear to be a result of recent trauma and had no skin or other particles surrounding it. We are liaising with the store who, in turn, are speaking to their suppliers for more information on this incident. Inquiries are ongoing,” a police spokesperson said.

Further testing is being carried out to ascertain the origin of the bone and the value fashion chain said it was liaising with the supplier of the socks. In a statement, the company said: “No evidence of any kind exists to suggest that any incident has occurred in the factory, so it is highly probable that this object was placed in the socks by an individual for unknown reasons.

“Primark has been the subject of isolated incidents in the past which have subsequently been found to have been hoaxes. The factory has been used by other retailers and the subject of many audits over many years. Primark sincerely apologises to the customer who found the item for any distress caused.”