As the grim details emerged earlier this year of shackles, bone fragments, a bloodstained bathtub and dozens of children's teeth, the revelations seemed too gruesome for the quiet Channel island of Jersey best known for daffodils, cream and Bergerac.

As the grim details emerged earlier this year of shackles, bone fragments, a bloodstained bathtub and dozens of children's teeth, the revelations seemed too gruesome for the quiet Channel island of Jersey best known for daffodils, cream and Bergerac.

Yesterday, police confirmed that they were.

The island's police force revealed the bones were in fact hundreds of years old, while an alleged skull fragment may be a coconut.

Detective Superintendent Michael Gradwell said the rooms described as underground punishment chambers where children were beaten and raped were "just cellars". He said bones found at the home dated from between 1470 and 1670, while the alleged shackles were "just rusty metal".

An item discovered in February and initially thought to be a piece of a child's skull "was more likely a part of a coconut" from the Victorian era, he added.

"The forensic recoveries do not indicate there have been murders of children or other persons at Haut de la Garenne," said David Warcup, Jersey's Deputy Chief Officer.

Yesterday it emerged that Graham Power, Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police, has been relieved of his duties pending an inquiry into his role in the £4m investigation into events at Haut de la Garenne.

Mr Power, the former Deputy Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, was suspended after the revelation that there was no evidence of any murder.

Police have been investigating decades-old abuse allegations at the home since 2006, but the inquiry only became public late in 2007, when police set up a confidential telephone hotline for victims to report abuse.

The historical abuse inquiry began by looking at allegations of offences made by about 100 people dating back to the 1950s. It came to prominence in February this year after police said they had found a child's body. In May, they said the discovery of human remains, such as children's teeth and bone fragments, could lead to a murder investigation.

Soon, police were briefing reporters on their discoveries, sparking lurid reports of the "house of horrors" inside the sprawling structure.

Detectives spent months searching the Victorian building earlier this year and claimed to have made a series of grisly discoveries that pointed to murder.

But senior detectives yesterday rejected the information previously released which indicated children might have been killed and then buried at the home.

"At this point in time, our assessment is that the forensic recoveries do not indicate that there have been murders of children or other persons at Haut de la Garenne," Mr Warcup told a news conference. "Nor do we believe the evidence indicates that bodies have been destroyed buried or hidden."

The former detective in charge, Lenny Harper, has criticised Jersey's legal system and there have been claims that the island's judicial authorities were involved in an attempted cover-up, but Mr Warcup said such criticisms were both unfounded and unhelpful.

"I am firmly of the belief that certain issues which have been made publicly known in certain quarters have inaccurately presented information and that creates a real risk to future trials," he said.

"I'm also of the opinion that speculation and uninformed comment will also be shown to have had a detrimental impact on the inquiry and may indeed have had an impact on confidence in the criminal justice system."

Mr Warcup apologised for inaccurate information given earlier by the force. Mr Harper, his predecessor, regularly briefed the media on the evidence found at the home and said detectives had found the burned and scarred remains of at least five children aged between four and 11.

Mr Warcup expressed "regret that information has been given by police that was not strictly accurate".

Three men have been charged with sex abuse at the home.

"The purpose of today is to say there is a child abuse inquiry but in terms of Haut de la Garenne, there was no murder," Mr Gradwell said.

Haut de la Garenne opened in 1867 as an industrial school, later serving as a children's home.

Mr Harper defended himself for raising fears children were murdered. He told a newspaper: "I have been saying for some time that the most likely outcome was that it would be impossible to date the bones accurately and so there would not be enough evidence to launch a homicide investigation."

More than 100 people claim they were abused by staff at Haut de la Garenne.