Pic: Metropolitan Police Service

Detectives have confirmed that a human head found in Regent’s Canal was that of murdered actress Gemma McCluskie.

Police were called to the canalside near Kingsland Road in Hackney on Sunday afternoon after a member of the public made the grisly discovery that morning.

Cleaners working on the canal at Kingsland Basin removed a bag from the water and found it contained the head, police said.

Dental records confirmed its identity and next of kin have been informed.

McCluskie’s torso and legs were were found in the same stretch of water in the water in March. The discovery of the head means that her entire body has now been found.

A post-mortem held on Tuesday in Poplar was inconclusive, not finding a cause of death, but further testing will be done.

The Homicide and Serious Crime Command are maintaining an incident room in Barking under Acting Detective Chief Inspector John Nicholson. Witnesses are urged to call the room on 020 8345 3985 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

McCluskie was missing for a week after disappearing on her way home from a charity event to the home she shared with her brother Tony McCluskie and her mother.

Friends launched an extensive search for her before her headless and limbless body was found in the canal near Broadway Market. Her limbs were found some weeks later.

Tony McCluskie, 35, will appear in court in November charged with his sister’s murder.