THIS was the extraordinary scene in Chatham as police collected a woman's body that had fallen from a mortuary van.

The corpse spilled from the back of the Co-op Funeral Service van at 11.30am yesterday in New Road. The driver drove off, unaware he had lost his cargo.

The dead woman, who has not been named, was left lying in the road behind the Gala bingo hall wrapped in a black body bag. Shocked motorists spotted the corpse and called police who sent two cars to the scene.

A hunt for the undertakers was launched while police moved the body to the side of the road and covered it with a tarpaulin.

The black Volkswagen mortuary van returned to New Road - now aware it was missing a body - at 12.20pm and the corpse was carried into the back of the van.

Officers interviewed two undertakers dressed in black suits for over 20 minutes, before leaving with the body safely secured in the back. It is believed the van had been en route to the Co-op branch in Chatham High Street from Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham when the body fell out.

A spokesman for the Co-op said: "We confirm that in a highly regrettable and distressing incident a stretcher carrying a body fell from the back of one of our funeral removal vehicles.

"Everyone concerned is extremely shocked and upset by the incident and we have launched an immediate inquiry."

The driver of the funeral van has been reported for having an insecure load.