Bridgend: Police get extra time to question suspects after babies' bodies found

Police have been given an extra 36 hours to question three people after the bodies of two babies were found.

Two men, aged 37 and 47, and a woman, 29, were arrested on suspicion of concealing the birth of a child.

Police were called to a property in Maes-y-Felin, Wildmill, Bridgend county, on Saturday evening.

A further 36-hour extension to their detention was granted at Merthyr Magistrates Court on Monday, South Wales Police said.

The force said it is awaiting the results of post mortems and forensic examinations, which took place on Monday, to determine the causes of the deaths.

Detective Superintendent Darren George, from South Wales Police thanked the local community for its patience given significant police activity in the area over the past 36 hours.

"In addition, I want to remind members of the public to demonstrate responsibility when sharing information through social media and other means. Some information has been both upsetting for people connected to the incident and could compromise the investigation," he said.

The leader of Bridgend council, Huw David, called it "shocking and tragic" and appealed for people to remain calm and avoid speculation.

The council offered help and support to residents.

Charmaine Gardener-Ponting, 27, who lives next to the people who have been arrested, said she had never seen babies or children next door and it had come as a "complete shock".

She said she and her partner had heard a knock on the door at about 22:30 GMT on Saturday from one of the many police officers who had arrived at the scene.

"They were just asking questions about if we'd seen the neighbours next door, did we know their names," she said.

"Questions about if we'd ever noticed she was pregnant, or any children around there, which we haven't.

"You normally know when someone next door has a baby. You can hear them crying or see them walking around."

She added: "We knew something bad must have happened with the blue tape and police not leaving. But babies being found is not something that we thought would have been happening."

A vigil is scheduled to take place at Wildmill Community Centre at 17:00 GMT on Tuesday, organised at the request of local residents by Steven Bletsoe, who is councillor for Bridgend Central and grew up in Wildmill.

Another resident, Jordan Mansell, said he noticed a police presence in the area on Sunday.

"It is a bit of a shock, a shock to everyone really," he said. "You wouldn't expect it to happen on this street, would you."

Mr David said: "Residents of Wildmill are supporting one another closely while South Wales Police carry out their ongoing investigations."

Another resident, Richard Davies, said: "It's a crazy world, isn't it?

"Shocking, isn't it? I found out on the news. Everybody in the community is talking about it."

Mr Bletsoe said it was "extremely upsetting" and urged anyone affected by the news to contact their councillor or the council for support.

"It's important that we don't feed the speculation. We need to allow the police to carry out a full investigation so that answers can be found," he said.

"Social media is what it is. There is already speculation out there and we need to temper that as much as we can."

At the scene: BBC reporter Stephen Fairclough

The house is taped off and guarded by police officers at the front and rear. People here are shocked.

Those that live in the house are not well known in the community and people did not know there were any babies in the household.

On Saturday night when the bodies of the babies were discovered, neighbours say there were many police vehicles in the street which arrived and left throughout the night.

There is a sense of disbelief here.