Police are investigating after the body of a newborn baby was found in a field in Greater Manchester.

Officers were called to the popular dog-walking spot in Heywood, near Rochdale, just after 7am on Wednesday. A woman escorted by a police officer was later seen carrying a Moses basket to the scene, reportedly to remove the baby’s body in a dignified way.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester police said they were treating the death as suspicious, as forensics officers and police dogs examined the scene.

The force was unable to confirm whether the baby was a boy or a girl. No arrests had been made by 3.30pm on Wednesday.

The field where the body was found is in a tract of woodland with the river Roch running through it. Sarah Wilkin, a Heywood resident, said she saw two ambulances, a helicopter, the fire brigade and a police car at the site, which is near a busy sports village and retail park.

“It’s devastating because it’s a baby. Obviously it’s awful when it’s an adult, but it seems worse when it’s a baby. Everyone is shocked,” she told the Manchester Evening News.

Millie Crosdale and Jess Hawkins, both 18, laid a bouquet of flowers at the police cordon. Crosdale said: “It is so close to home – you don’t expect it to happen here. It is heartbreaking, really. All you can do is come and pay your respects.”

Hawkins added: “This is where we all come down in the summer and it’s nice; when it’s snowing you bring your kids down with the sleds. You wouldn’t think something like that would happen here.”

A Greater Manchester police spokesman said: “At around 7.10am on Wednesday 4 April 2018, police were called to a field near George Street in Heywood, to reports that the body of a baby had been found. Officers attended and discovered the body of what is believed to be a newborn baby.”

A spokesman for the North West ambulance service confirmed they were called to the scene at 7.10am. An ambulance and a rapid response vehicle were sent, but no one was taken to hospital.