Elephant Man burial sought

The family of the "Elephant Man" - a freak show attraction in Victorian Britain - are hoping to bury his remains 112 years after his death, the Sunday Times reports.

Joseph Merrick's skeleton was kept by Whitechapel hospital, East London, in the hope of discovering what caused his skull to grow wider than his waist and his lips to invert, forming a 10cm trunk. He died aged 28.

Ray Merrick, 74, is awaiting a decision on the disposal of human remains by a commission set up after the recent scandal of hospitals storing children's organs without consent.