The examination revealed the babies - thought to be twins - were around 37 weeks old when they died, Greater Manchester Police said.

Their remains were found at the home of a woman, named locally as Margaret Guarino, a 77-year-old mother of eight who died two years ago.

One set of remains was discovered in a pink doll's box and the other in a blue toy box when family members cleared out her home in Audenshaw, Greater Manchester.

A police spokeswoman said: "The post mortem on the babies' bones found at a house on Rowcon Close, Audenshaw, was inconclusive.

"The bones were measured and the babies were believed to have been around 37 to 39 weeks old when they died, so almost full term.

"It is thought the babies were twins as it would be unusual for two babies born at separate times to be the same size.

"The femurs from the remains of both babies have been sent off for DNA testing. The results from these tests will be not available for at least three months."

Police were called to the maisonette in Rowcon Close at 10.40pm on May 8.

The 2ft boxes were found in the wardrobe of a bedroom alongside a newspaper dated November 26, 1956.