Couple lay dead for up to week in car under 700 tonnes of mud after tunnel landslide Their bodies were found after the car was discovered last night, hidden under tons of mud and earth near Beaminster Tunnel in Dorset. The woman in the car was named locally as Rosemary Snell from near Crewkerne in Somerset. Rosemary Snell (SWNS) It is feared they may have died after being unable to free themselves from the buried car. One body was found crushed beneath the roof of the car. A second body is believed to be still in the mud which had filled the car. Assistant Chief Constable James Vaughan of Dorset Police passed on his condolences to their relatives but said it was a "busy weekend" and there was no sign in "any shape or form" that they were under the mudslide. He said a brief search was carried out at the time and the tunnel was closed as it was a dangerous structure. But he said no major search was ordered until it became known that the couple from Somerset were in the area at the time of the landslide. Proper excavating equipment was then brought in and the "crushed" remains of the car found under hundreds of tons of mud and rubble. Speaking at the scene, he said: "It was not obvious in any shape or form that the vehicle was there The tunnel was closed and it has remained closed for the rest of the 10 days. It was an unsafe structure. However simultaneously concerns began to grow in Somerset during the week for a couple that were reported missing by friends and family. He said that bank details were checked and it was found that they were in the area of the tunnel on the weekend of the 7th of July. He said: "There were 150 flood warnings in the county at that time. 180 houses had to be evacuated and there were 400 incidents reported to police control room. This was one of those incidents that was later investigated. Yesterday evening Dorset fire and rescue, county engineers and Dorset engineers came together and brought in heavy machinery and began to excavate some of the mud we see at the front of the tunnel. Underneath that mud and that rubble, a vehicle was found that we linked to the couple that were missing from Somerset. The vehicle was crushed the roof was completely flat and we found at least one body inside and suspect amongst the mud there is a second body inside the car. It emerged that Miss Snell was a pillar of the local community and was an active local fundraiser and deputy chair of the village WI group. Ron Bond, a councillor at Crewkerne County Council, said he was baffled as to how her body could have lain undiscovered for ten days. He said: "I am absolutely disgusted with what has gone on. We knew one of the people involved. I can't understand how nobody there looked to see if there was anyone in there. We don't know what the facts are here and have to be careful. But on the face of it it seems outrageous that somebody was in there for so long. I know that firefighters have to be careful of their own safety but it is just so awful. The neighbours of the lady were concerned that they hadn't seen her around and the police broke into her place and found there was no one there. She is very well known in the local area, everyone is Misterton is a neighbour. She was a very nice lady and full of life. It is such a tragedy. Friend Paul Bradly, who lives in Misterton with wife Diane, said: "We are just in shock. The belief is that it is Rosemary, a member of the village and someone who is very well liked, deputy chair of the WI. It is absolutely tragic. Who was accompanying her we just don't know. As far as we know, Rosemary had no children, she lived alone. The village was her family. We were all going to a fundraising lunch on Friday this week. Just this week we emailed her directions. It is deep in the heart. We don't know exactly when she went missing. She spends a lot of time in London and people didn't think any more of it. Nobody would have known she was gone. Police believe the was buried under this pile of mud The bodies were only discovered after detectives used credit card details to retrace the couple's steps and follow the route they may have taken.