A man has been arrested after abandoning his newborn daughter in a dumpster in south-west China.

The father put the girl in a paper bag before throwing her away on January 15 - just two hours after his girlfriend gave birth to her at their home.

The man claimed that he and his girlfriend saw the baby girl turning purple and thought she was 'incurable', therefore he chose to get rid of her.

The baby, whose umbilical cord was still attached, was taken to the hospital after a passing elderly woman found her.

Mr Li carries the baby in a paper bag and walks towards the dumpster in Xuanwei, China

His daughter is born just two hours ago before being abandoned in a dumpster on a street

Screenshots of the CCTV footage shows Mr Li, who was wearing a red top, approached a dumpster with a paper bag in a neighbourhood in Xuanwei at 4:30pm.

He had put the baby girl in the paper bag. He placed the bag in the public bin and left the scene.

The baby's umbilical cord was still attached when she was found by an old woman. Her face and lips turned purple due to the cold weather, reported Yunnan Daily.

Onlookers sent the newborn to Xuanwei People's Hospital and later transferred to the city community centre.

Footage emerged online showing the pensioner holding the baby in her arms and keeping her warm in some clothes.

An elderly woman removes the baby girl from the bin and takes her to the hospital

The pensioner says she noticed the baby's face had turned purple, so she wrapped her with thick clothes (left). The baby has is healthy and had been sent to a community centre (right)

Shuang Long policemen tracked down Mr Li after reviewing CCTV footage. They found him and his girlfriend Ms Lai at their apartment.

The couple were not married but Ms Li, who had not done any pregnancy checkups, was eight month pregnant when she went into labour.

According to a police statement, two hours after giving birth, the couple thought the baby was 'incurable' after noticing she had turned purple-ish green.

Xuanwei People's Hospital confirmed to the police that the baby was in a healthy condition. The baby had been sent to a community centre.

Mr Li was arrested and detained for violating China's criminal law. Ms Lai was released on bail.

Further information is yet to released.