The gruesome discovery of a severed fingertip led to police sealing off a section of Chorley town centre yesterday.

A passer-by alerted officers at around noon after noticing a broken bottle surrounded by a significant amount of blood in an alleyway between the Gala bingo hall and the Kinetic pub.

Forensic officers called to the scene then found the body part, described “as the severed end of a finger”.

A crime scene investigator, wearing a full white body suit and mask, removed the fingertip, before the alley and nearby pavement was sealed off.

Tests later confirmed that the body part was of human origin.

Officers remained at the scene for the remainder of the afternoon as investigations continued.

Today, police confirmed that a man had voluntarily attended a hospital in Merseyside for treatment on hand injuries consistent with losing the end of a finger.