The bodies of eight babies have been found in a German town.

A local woman contacted emergency services on Thursday afternoon after finding one body at the flat in the Bavarian town of Wallenfels, police said.

Officers then found several more bodies in a room.

Police and prosecutors initially said they believed there were seven bodies. Later on Friday, they said an eighth set of remains had been found - wrapped in towels and plastic bags like the others.

The bodies are being examined by forensic experts, but the examinations "will take some time in view of their poor condition, in some cases" and results should not be expected before the beginning of next week, police and prosecutors said.

Authorities have so far been unable to find the property's former resident, a 45-year-old woman, but are questioning several other people.

Police added that she is being sought as the possible mother of the babies, but would not say whether she is a suspect, news agency dpa reported.

It was unclear how long the babies had been dead or who, if anyone, was living in the apartment at the time of the discovery.

Wallenfels has around 3,000 inhabitants and is located in a rural area of north-eastern Bavaria.