Bristolian express their shock after 'suitcases full of human remains' were found at Clifton Suspension Bridge

Andrea Malizia, 64, has lived near the bridge for over 20 years.

He said: "It was after the England game - I was watching a film around midnight when I remember first hearing a helicopter circling.

"It was circling for quite a while - I remember finishing my film and starting another in that time - it was flying very low.

"Then this morning I woke up and was told the bridge was closed and then of course, found out what happened a couple hours ago.

"Unfortunately we have lots of incidents related to the bridge anyways, it’s terrible - and there is so much surveillance on it, they have guards so surely there will be footage of him out there."

Graziella Licata, 51, runs Bristol Ice Cream and serves from her van next to the bridge each day.

She said the news was “absolutely awful”, and added: “I got down here at around 11 this morning and it was just so quiet - to be honest it’s been so so quiet in the area all day, no comings or goings at all.

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“It’s scary - when I woke up this morning and heard the bridge had closed, I immediately thought ‘this must be really bad’ because they never ever close it.

“And then when we heard what happened we were just completely shocked.

“We hope the families of the victim or victims are informed quickly and they get some closure as soon as possible - that’s the main thing.

“The helicopter has just started circling again - we really hope the man is caught as quickly as possible as well, it’s terrifying.”

Despite the tragic news and ongoing investigation, the green space surrounding Clifton Suspension Bridge was busy with sunbathers and school students celebrating the end of term on Thursday afternoon.

A few police officers were monitoring the road leading on to the bridge - which has been closed since this morning - and a helicopter began circling the area again at around 3:30pm.