Detectives investigating the discovery of a dead newborn baby at a beauty spot in Heywood have revealed the body was of a girl - and made a direct appeal to her mother to come forward.

A dog walker made the shocking find in woodland close to the River Roch just after 7am on Wednesday morning.

Police returned to the Back O’ Th’ Moss estate, close to where the baby girl was found, on Thursday evening and made a direct plea to the mother, as concern over her wellbeing increased.

Det Con Kelly Bragg told the media: “My name is Kelly and I’m part of the team who are looking into the circumstances of what happened to the baby girl that was found in the woods behind me.

“Sadly the baby had died and our main priority at this time is the wellbeing of the baby girl’s mother as she may be in need of urgent medical attention.”

Appealing directly to the mother, she added: “If you are the baby’s mother, I would ask you to get in touch either directly to me or ask a family member or a friend you can trust to contact me on your behalf and we will do everything we can to help you.

“We also understand it may be difficult for the baby’s mother to come forward and as such I’m also asking for anyone who may have information that might assist us to get in touch on 07387 705 768.”

As soon as the brief statement was delivered and as night fell, police officers began house-to-house enquiries on the estate.

Mystery still surrounds the circumstances of the death.

A Home Office pathologist conducted a post mortem examination into the cause of death on Thursday morning but it proved inconclusive.

More tests are now being carried out.

Police officers are trying to establish how long the baby had been dead before she was discovered close to a copse beside a well-worn footpath popular with dog-walkers, and also how long the body lay in the woods.

Earlier, Det Insp Phil Key said: “This is a very upsetting case and we have a number of officers working to understand how long the baby was there and how it sadly died.

"We do not have the answers to these questions yet, but I would like to reassure residents that we will do all we can to find out what happened to this baby.

“If anyone has information please get in touch, because even the most minor detail could prove vital to this investigation.”

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