An appeal has been launched to establish the identity of a little girl, aged around three, who was found alone in a park near the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

It's very important to us for someone, somewhere, to recognise her

Now being cared for at a children’s home in the city where staff call her Nina, the dark-haired girl was discovered a month ago in the town of Velika Gorica.

It is thought she may have got lost amid the tide of migrants passing through Croatia on their way to Western Europe.

Authorities want to reunite Nina with her family.

“It’s very important to us for someone, somewhere, to recognise her so we can contact members of her family,” said Croatian Family Minister Milanka Opacic.

Children’s home manager Jasna Curkovic Kelava said Nina had adapted well to her new surroundings.

“She accepts new people and the new atmosphere. It is obvious that she has been brought up in a good family and that they care a lot about her,” she said.

After attempts with many languages, Nina is said to be responding to a Romanian dialect – offering a vital clue in the search for a happy ending.

More children are joining the ranks of refugees streaming into Europe according to the United Nations.

At least 190,000 children have sought asylum in Europe so far this year, or 700 a day, out of 760,000 people who have crossed the Mediterranean, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Children – mainly Syrians and Afghans fleeing war – accounted for one in three refugees registered in Gevgelija in Macedonia in October, up from one in 10 who arrived via Greece in June, UNICEF said, quoting government figures.