Police investigating the discovery of a severed head and a hand on a beach said today that they have found a second hand.

Tayside Police said the third body part had been recovered from the shore at Arbroath, Angus.

Detailed forensic tests on the woman's head, which was discovered by two young sisters yesterday morning, were continuing.

The girls, aged eight and 11, made the grim discovery around 10.30 yesterday morning.

The woman's head was found hidden in a plastic bag, followed by the first hand.

Tayside Police said the second hand had been retrieved a short time later but this was not revealed until today.

The beach was cordoned off while forensic officers examined the scene and the body parts were removed.

A search of the area was due to resume later this morning.

Police said the timing of the search would be determined by the tides.

The search will be extended along the shoreline and include the harbour area.

Detective Chief Inspector Graham McMillan, the senior investigating officer, said: "The body parts have been removed from the beach and a post-mortem will be undertaken today, along with further forensic and pathological investigation today.

"Clearly we are anxious to identify the deceased at the earliest opportunity. But I think it is fair to say that this investigation is in its infancy and it will take several days before we have forensic test results that could shed further light on the inquiry."

The sisters were playing during their Easter school holidays when they discovered the head.

Neighbours said they heard their screams before they rushed home and told their mother, who contacted Tayside Police.

The girls' mother said today that her daughters were terrified at what might happen to them.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said the girls had left their home to be comforted by relatives.

She said they were very upset after finding the woman's head on the beach.

And she revealed they were worried that the person who killed the woman would come for them.

The mother said: "I can't say at the moment if they are going to be all right or not. They are very shaken up. They are worried that the person who did this to the woman could do it to them."

Specialist police officers will speak to the youngsters again today.

Detectives have been trawling through missing persons files trying to identify the dead woman.

Police said that at this stage she did not match any missing persons from the Tayside Police force area.

Mr McMillan said recent heavy rains in the area made it difficult to tell how long - if at all - the head had been in the water.

A Holmes (Home Office Large Major Crime Enquiry System) team was set up to help with the investigation.

Residents and politicians in the seaside town said they were shocked at yesterday's gruesome find.

Arbroath councillor Jim Millar, who met the girls' mother this morning, said the family remained "very distressed".

Mr Millar said: "The children remain very frightened - this has been extraordinarily traumatic for them.

"The mother also remains very distressed.

"The mother has expressed concern and regret for the dead woman and her family."

Mr Millar confirmed that both Tayside Police's child protection team and Angus Council's social work department were supporting the family.