A couple have been charged with gross negligence manslaughter after the remains of a baby were found in Brighton, prosecutors have said.

Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, who had been missing since 5 January, were arrested in the city on Monday after being spotted by a member of the public in a shop.

They were found without their newborn child and police said they had refused to reveal its whereabouts.

It led to a major search with more than 200 police officers looking for the baby in allotments and woodland in and around Brighton.

Police said on Wednesday that the remains of a baby had been found in a wooded area of the city, close to where the pair were detained.

The Crown Prosecution Service has now authorised Metropolitan Police to charge Marten and Gordon with gross negligence manslaughter.

They have also been charged with concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.

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The pair will appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

Police had been looking for Marten and Gordon for nearly two months, since their car caught fire on the motorway near Bolton, and there were serious concerns over the welfare of their baby.

There were sightings of them in various locations around the UK – most recently in East Sussex.

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