A search dog trained to find human remains started barking when it entered a bricked up cellar at a former care home in the Channel Islands on Wednesday (February 27), police said.

The dog's "extremely strong reaction" was the same as when it helped find a child's remains buried under inches of concrete at the Haut de la Garenne house in Jersey at the weekend, said the island's Deputy Chief Police Officer Lenny Harper.

Police are searching the house as part of an investigation into allegations of child abuse on the island stretching back to the 1960s but focussed on the 70s and 80s.

The underground room has been identified by many of the 160 people who have contacted police saying the were victims of child abuse, said Harper.

Most of the assaults are alleged to have taken place at the former children's home, many occurring in the cellar.

Deputy Chief Constable Lenny Harper said he was not surprised victims had not come forward before.

"There are a number of reasons - very, very traumatic events in their lives. A lot of them, even some of the people that have contacted us in last few days, say they are very reluctant to speak because of the memories that it all brings back. It's difficult to imagine the traumatic effect that this has had on victims. There will be others perhaps who were worried that they would not be taken seriously and certainly there have been a large number who have said they didn't come forward until others had come forward and knew they wouldn't be alone."

Harper cautioned that the dog's reaction did not mean another body would be found. He said the investigation would a long one.

"The forensic teams will be down in there now and we will need to make an assessment of how much material we are going to have to bring out whether we examine the area in situ, what sort of an examination we're going to make. And as for how long, I would imagine that we're probably going to be here for at least another couple of weeks."

The police inquiry into child abuse now has more than 40 suspects and Harper said there would be arrests.

"There will be arrests as we go on, people will be brought in and questioned about the allegations that have been made by victims about what went on in the home, " he said.

Children's charity the NSPCC said it has received more than 100 calls reporting allegations of abuse on the island, with more than a third coming in the past two days.

The charity has referred 45 of the calls to the Jersey police.

A former female resident of the home in the 1970s, identified only as Pamela, told one UK tv channel the home was a "paedophile paradise."