Home residents mull suing Jersey

Haut de la Garenne is now a Jersey youth hostel

People who claim they were abused at Jersey's Haut de la Garenne care home say they are considering suing the island's government.

Two alleged victims have come forward to say they may bring a civil claim for compensation in the courts.

Father-of-four Carl Denning, who says he was sexually abused at the home in the 1970s, said: "The Jersey authorities have a lot to answer for."

Forensic teams are still searching the house and grounds for evidence.

'Held responsible'

Fifty-year-old Mr Denning, of Caernarfon, claimed: "The staff weren't looked at, at all. Nobody ever came to check.

"We were raped and what happens? They say, 'well that was the past, it's tough'".

Another man who says he was abused at the home, Jersey-resident Cyril Turner, now 48, said: "I want the people who did this to be held responsible."

Some 160 people have come forward to claim that they were abused at Haut de la Garenne since an inquiry was launched 18 months ago.

The investigation was stepped up last month after police found the partial remains of a child's skull buried in concrete in a stairwell.

A Jersey government spokesman said: "The police are still investigating the allegations of historic abuse at Haut de la Garenne.

"It is too early to say anything other than that the government of Jersey is providing the funds needed to enable the police to do their job."