Demolition crews unearthed what are believed to be the bodies of a woman and her baby while digging on Buchanan Street yesterday afternoon.

A digger struck a Victorian tombstone dating back 175 years at the site of the former Colin's paint warehouse.

Blackpool Council - which is overseeing the clearance of six houses and the commercial property - ordered an immediate halt to the demolition work.

Police and environmental health officers were then called in to investigate.

The remains were recovered from inside the grave and police took them to a nearby mortuary.

Simon London, 20, from Blackpool-based firm JR Demolition, said: "We were digging up the floor under the site of the warehouse when we hit a large stone.

"We thought at first it was an old flagstone, but as we lifted it and the soil slid off we realised it had lettering on it.

"When we looked we saw it was a tombstone with the name of a 47-year old woman and an 11-month-old child on it. It is dated 1833.

"We stopped work immediately and called our boss. He thought we were joking at first, but when he saw it he called the council.

"It's a bit eerie to think there could be more of them under there."

Although the writing is hard to read, the inscription on the headstone bears the name of a woman called Cragg who died aged 47 years. It also makes reference to her 11-month-old daughter who died the same year.

Glynn Watkins, owner of JR Demolition said: "I was amazed when the men told me what they had found.

"I must admit I have never come across anything like this before.

"The council came out and closed the site down while they look into things further so we don't know when work will continue now."

A Lancashire Police spokeswoman said: "I can confirm human remains appear to have been found on this site.

"These have now been transferred to a nearby mortuary.

"There will be an ongoing search to check that there are no further remains or graves in the location."

The demolition scheme is part of the massive redevelopment of Talbot Gateway.

Blackpool Council bought up 15 houses and the warehouse on Buchanan Street which have been bulldozed to transform the rundown area into a new civic centre. Work began six weeks ago.

A council spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the demolition crew working on Buchanan Street have discovered what appears to be a gravestone.

"Preliminary investigations are being carried out and the site will be closed until further notice.

"At this stage we don't know what we are dealing with so can't estimate how long work will be delayed for."

Local historian Terry Regan said he was "astonished" by the find.

He said: "I'm from that area and have never heard of a church on that site.

"But there is so much we still don't know about Blackpool. A lot of council records were destroyed in a fire at the old Boots chemist in the 1930s which affected the council offices next door.

"I will be following the investigation with interest."