AN investigation has been launched after two teenagers stumbled upon a hand in a Wirral cemetery.

This picture, sent in to the Globe by Bidston councillor Jim Crabtree, was taken on Wednesday night by the boys who made the discovery while walking through Flaybrick cemetery.

A police spokesman said it was unclear, at the moment, how the hand - which is believed to have come from a mannequin - found its way into the hole, but added it may have been the subject of a Hallowe'en prank.

Cllr Crabtree told the Globe: "The two lads who sent the picture to me were shaken up when they found the hand buried in the hole.

"It freaked them out a bit and they won't be going back into the cemetery for a while.

"It may have been put in the hole as a joke. I know the police are looking into it." 

In a statement, Merseyside Police said: "Police were in attendance for a short time at a cemetery in Bidston on Wednesday.

"At about 9.15pm a report was received from a member of the public that they had seen, what they believed to be a, hand inside a hole in Flaybrick Cemetery.

"A patrol attended and, following a quick search, found a mannequin hand inside a small hole.

"Officers believe the initial report was made in good faith. It is not known if the item had been left there deliberately."