A nine-year-old girl has discovered a dismembered new born baby while she was playing in her back garden.

Britany Placencia, of Westmont, Los Angeles, told NBC Los Angeles that she had found the baby’s leg when she was playing with her dog and immediately ran to tell her mother.

“The dog was sniffing the ball… so I was going to get the ball and I got it. I saw the leg,” she told the broadcaster.

When Britany’s mother went to look for herself she thought might have been a chicken leg before she realised the situation. She then discovered the baby’s head by her fence and immediately called the police.

Lieutenant Victor Lewandowski, LA County Sheriff’s Department, told reporters the “remains are that of a one to three month-old infant”.

“The infant appears to have been dismembered. Significant portions of the body are still missing,” he added.