Teenager claims to be mother of baby found at Scunthorpe recycling plant

A teenager has contacted police to say she is the mother of a baby boy found dead in waste being sorted at a recycling plant.

Officers received a telephone call yesterday from a girl who was in a distressed state, reporting that she was the mother of the baby found at Bell Waste Control in Scunthorpe.

The teenager was taken to Scunthorpe General Hospital where she has been admitted for post-natal care, a spokeswoman for Humberside Police said.

A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said: "Whilst it is not yet clear exactly what the circumstances of this incident are, it is believed that the baby was newborn.

"The teenage girl is now receiving the necessary care she requires and further inquiries into the circumstances of what happened will be made in due course, including a post-mortem examination of the baby which is due to take place later today."

The body was discovered yesterday by a member of staff as he worked on a section picking off cardboard, wood, paper, metal and other objects for recycling.

He originally mistook it for a doll or cuddly toy, but on realising it was a child dropped it instantly.

Recycling plant manager Steve Kent said the baby could have been discarded in a load of commercial waste, possibly from a factory or office.

He told ITV News that a colleague reported that a baby's body had been located on the picking station and they immediately stopped the machines and called the police.

"The guys have obviously stopped the plant and we have notified the police immediately," he said.

"He was quite distressed and he immediately dropped it. We stopped the plant and went through the process with the police.

"He originally thought it was a doll or a cuddly toy or something like that. He's just picked it up and it was revealed what it was."

Police hope a post-mortem examination will provide more clues as to how the baby died.

Detective Sergeant Karen Philpott said the recycling site had been secured and numerous officers were working on the investigation.

Yesterday, she urged "anybody out there, any members of her family, who know her identity to contact us at the family protection team".

Nessa Thompson, managing director of the neighbouring Thompson Recycling Group, also on Winterton Road, told the Scunthorpe Telegraph: "For the people who found it, it is terrible.

"We are very close-knit and we heard what had happened through the drivers.

"It is absolutely appalling. I cannot think of anything worse."

PA