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A UK utility giant held a Catholic service and buried 14 bodies at a cemetery - after shocked workers stumbled across their 200 year-old remains when digging up a street gas main. Teams working for Cadent, which manages the local underground gas network, made the unexpected find while diverting a gas main in Stockport, in Greater Manchester, on 31st May.

Examinations confirmed the remains belonged to 14 individuals - seven adults, one teenager, and six children under three years old. A rare service of committal has now taken place at Park Road Cemetery in Stockport, where the bodies were reinterred.

The service was led by Father Martin Onuoha, the local Catholic priest for the three parishes of Our Lady & The Apostles, St. Ambrose, and St. Vincent de Paul.

Last year Greater Manchester Police (GMP) secured the site when the bones were uncovered, and Cadent brought in archaeological specialists from SLR Consulting to investigate.

Forensic experts discovered the street gas main site had once been a burial ground for a short-lived Roman Catholic church, dating to the 1800s.

Principal Archaeologist Megan Stoakley, from SLR Consulting who led the forensic investigation, said: "This was an unusual case for our team.

"We didn't begin with intact graves; instead, we encountered disarticulated remains in ground disturbed long after the original burials. Piece by piece, we've rebuilt the site's story and ensured a dignified reburial.

"In the earlytomid 19th century, Stockport was heavily industrialised. Many families lived in cramped, overcrowded housing with poor sanitation and polluted air and water.

"Sadly, these conditions drove high mortality, particularly among children.

"While we will never know who these people are - the only records we were able to find are in poor condition through age, and now too faded to read - we have made sure they are treated with dignity."

At the time the bodies were discovered, GMP said they had "likely been there for a considerable amount of time."

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Cadent workers were digging into a section of the pavement on King Street West, near Our Lady's Catholic Primary School as they upgraded and repositioned gas pipes for the Greek Street bridge replacement.

On this site sits a four-way roundabout which carries traffic over the West Coast mainline next to Stockport station, and it is a key traffic route between the town centre, Shaw Heath and Edgeley.

Built in 1958, the 67-year-old bridge had "reached the end of its life," said Network Rail, which oversaw its dismantling, removal and replacement as part of one of the biggest civil engineering projects in the town's history.

But this was also a forgotten burial ground of the former Roman Catholic Chapel of Sts. Philip and James, which opened in 1803 to serve Stockport's growing Catholic community.

Burials occurred roughly between 1825 and 1856. The chapel was demolished in 1911 and the area was redeveloped. Today, a school stands on the site in Shaw Street in Edgeley, Stockport.

Cadent manages the North West's gas distribution network - more than 21,000 miles of underground pipelines and hundreds of above-ground sites, through which gas is transported to millions of homes, as well as hospitals, schools, offices, retail, industrial and other sites.

Lucy Sterry, Head of Work Management, Cadent (North West), who attended the service, said: "From the moment our team uncovered the remains, we made sure everything was dealt with appropriately.

"We halted work immediately, brought in police and archaeologists, and ensured every step was handled with due care and respect.

"I'm proud of how our teams responded and that we have ensured these people are now laid to rest, in peace, in Park Road Cemetery."