US police find 17 bodies 'piled up' in shed at nursing home hit by coronavirus

Police found the bodies of 17 suspected coronavirus victims piled inside a makeshift morgue at a nursing home.

The horrific discovery was made in the town of Andover in New Jersey, US, after officers received an anonymous tip-off.

They arrived at the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center, one of the state's largest homes, after being told that a body was being stored in a shed.

Upon investigation, they found the corpses inside a makeshift morgue intended for four people at most, the New York Times reports.

The home is understood to have suffered 68 deaths in recent weeks as the US becomes the global epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of those who have died, two are understood to be nurses and 26 had tested positive for the virus.

Eric Danielson, the town's police chief, said: "They were just overwhelmed by the amount of people who were expiring."

Local health records suggest that a further 76 patients are ill with the potentially deadly bug, in addition to 41 members of staff.Thirteen of the bodies have now been moved by refrigerated truck to a hospital in the nearby town of Newton, according to police.

A funeral home is due to pick up the remaining four.