A couple who tried to sell their five-month-old baby on Craigslist for $3,000 (£2,400), have been arrested after a sting operation.

John David Cain, 26, and Deanna Lynn Greer, 37, were taken into custody after exchanging the infant with undercover agents.

Detective captain Jeff Morgan of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, told the Independent the advert had been “spotted by a couple who were just perusing Craigslist”.

The unnamed pair notified the police, who enlisted the help of the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Agents contacted Mr Cain and Ms Greer, and a meeting was arranged in the car park of a discount store.

After the swap, the child taken into protective custody.

“The baby’s fine, it’s with foster parents now,” Detective Morgan said.

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The pair have been charged under Tennessee’s “Hayley’s Law”, which made child abuse a Class A felony in the state after it was introduced in 2010.

It is named after a young girl who was found with her eyes swollen shut, ears bleeding and burns all over her body after being abused by her father and stepmother.