An abandoned newborn baby girl was saved from starving to death when a heroine cop breastfed her while they waited for paramedics.

New mother Luisa Fernanda Urrea - a police officer in La Marina, Colombia - had been called to a remote forest settlement when locals found the baby in the undergrowth.

Medics say that without her maternal support, the hours-old baby might have succumbed to starvation and hypothermia.

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Doctors believe new mother Luisa Fernanda Urrea saved the baby's life by feeding her while she waiting for medical help

The newborn baby girl, pictured here in hospital, was found by locals abandoned in a forest in rural Colombia

The heroic police officer later told media she was a new mother herself and recognised the child was desperately hungry

She told local media: 'I'm a new mother and I have milk and I recognised the needs that this poor little creature had.'

She added: 'I think any woman would have given her nourishment in the same circumstances.'

Edinora Jimenez, 59, who found the baby, said: 'I was collecting some oranges when I heard something crying.

'I thought it was a cat until I looked closer and saw that it was a baby girl.'

Local police commandant Javier Martin told how the baby was so recently born she still had part of her umbilical cord attached.

He added: 'The girl had some lacerations and was suffering from hypothermia. However, she was treated quickly and is now in good health.'

The infant is now being cared for by the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, which is searching for an adoptive home.

Police and health officials are also searching for the baby's birth mother, who may face attempted murder charges.

Orphanage director Jhon Arley Murillo said: 'We could be dealing with a case of attempted homicide, although it's the prosecutor who will decide the charge.'