Message found on Jersey cellar wall

The first picture of a "punishment room" at a former children's home in Jersey revealed today a message written on the wall.

"I've been bad for years and years" was written on a wooden post against the wall of a secret chamber under Haut de la Garenne.

A general view of the basement of the former children's home 'Les hauts de la Garenne' in Saint-Martin, on the Channel island of Jersey.

The picture also reveals a large shallow concrete bath.

Police have excavated one underground chamber at the home and believe there could be three more.

The chambers have been described by victims as punishment rooms where they were physically and sexually assaulted and kept in solitary confinement.

Police could not confirm reports that staff at the home would put up to 25 children in freezing water in the hidden bath.

Forensic teams found a child's skull in the northwest corner of the building on February 23rd.

More than 160 people claim they were abused while staying there, with allegations going back 40 years, and there are 40 suspects in the inquiry.

Christine Bowker, a former volunteer at the home, said she encountered children "frozen with fear" and a "wall of silence" when she tried to raise concerns. She worked there in the early 1970s but left due to concerns at the conduct of some of the staff.

Ms Bowker told the BBC that some of the workers were "ice cold". She said: "They had no civil contact with me whatsoever, and watched me very carefully with the children.

"And if the children relaxed at all or responded to my affection, they glared at the children and they glared at me, then the children just went back into their shells."