Human remains discovered by a three-year-old are believed to be an ancient skull, police have said.

Charlie Ryan-Williams stumbled across the remains while walking with his father on a footpath off Church Street in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, at around 10am on Thursday.

Nottinghamshire Police said preliminary investigations suggest the skull fragments, found near the site of an ancient Anglo-Saxon burial ground and Roman villa, are likely to be human.

The force said no further police investigations are deemed necessary and the remains may be sent for more detailed laboratory examination.

Charlie’s father, veterinary nurse Jack Ryan-Williams, 35, said: “We were walking along when my son found something on the footpath.

“At first I thought they were pieces of pottery but then I realised what they were.

“I could see straight away they were very old but thought I should ring the police anyway.

“It was certainly a surprising thing for us to find, but his mum was in for more of a surprise when, before I could explain more about how old the remains were, my son told her all about the human skull we had found.”

Sergeant Andy Lee said: “Whilst we don’t believe that a crime has been committed, at least for a very long time, Mr Ryan-Williams was absolutely right to report this to us.

“Any discovery of human remains is taken extremely seriously and a proper investigation carried out, even where we don’t believe an offence has been committed.”

The force said, after all investigations have been completed, the remains will be passed into care of the Nottinghamshire County archaeologist.