Hunt for mother of wheelie bin baby

Detectives in Lincolnshire are working to identify the infant's mother after his body was discovered wrapped in a black bin liner on a conveyor belt at a waste recycling plant.

The grim discovery was made by a worker at the Greenstar Recycling Plant in Mill Lane, Addlethorpe, Lincolnshire, on Thursday.

The boy, who was two or three days old when he died, was found by the male worker as he searched for glass in rubbish brought to the plant for recycling.

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Gibbon, who is leading the investigation, said: "It's perfectly possible that this woman or girl has given birth without anybody being there or with anybody who knew what they were doing."

The detective said part of the umbilical cord was in the bag with the dead baby boy, who had probably died this week.

Officers are yet to ascertain where the baby was born but believe the mother may come from the Skegness area as household recycling bins were collected in the town earlier this week and then delivered to the plant on Wednesday. However, detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was from further afield.

Mr Gibbon said: "The most important thing for me is for the mum to come forward. There's no question that she will be distressed and in need of urgent medical attention and this is a direct appeal for her to contact us so we can hopefully get to the bottom of what has happened."

The detective said the baby's mother was not in any trouble at the moment, adding: "It's an unexplained death of a newly born baby boy. It's not usual and, until we can backtrack and find out what has happened, the investigation is ongoing."

Post-mortem tests have yet to determine a cause of death but an examination has found that the baby was not stillborn. Sources close to the investigation said the baby is believed to have died as a result of a traumatic birth.