Police appeal for mother to come forward after infant found in freezing temperatures

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A newborn baby has been found abandoned in a shopping bag at an east London park in freezing temperatures.

The girl, who nurses have named Roman, was found late on Thursday. A woman heard the infant crying as she was walking her dog with her children. She immediately called emergency services, and the baby was taken to hospital.

Roman was said to be in a stable condition on Friday morning. The Metropolitan police released a photograph that showed her attached to an intravenous drip and monitoring equipment.

The baby had been wrapped in a white towel, put in the shopping bag and left on the ground next to a bench in the small children’s play park, police said. No attempt was made to hide her.

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Officers said they were increasingly concerned about the mother’s welfare. Scotland Yard said she may need medical attention and urged her to contact the police or emergency services.

Appealing to the mother, Insp Shane Clarke of the north-east command unit said: “It is really important that we know that you are safe.

“I would also urge anyone who has information that could help us to reunite this baby with her mother to come forward.”

Police said they were called to reports of an abandoned baby in a park at about 10.15pm.

The Met has asked anyone with information about the mother to call 101, quoting reference CAD7825/31JAN, or to tweet the force’s contact centre @MetCC.