12-year-old girl gives birth

A girl aged 12 gave birth yesterday morning. The girl, said to be from the Devonport area of Plymouth, is thought to have given birth to the child at home before going to a hospital inthe city.

A girl aged 12 gave birth yesterday morning. The girl, said to be from the Devonport area of Plymouth, is thought to have given birth to the child at home before going to a hospital inthe city.

Devon and Cornwall police said their first concern was for the welfare of the mother and baby, who were doing well.

Social services staff and members of the police child protection team would be considering the circumstances of the pregnancy to make appropriate decisions.

The police child protection team had visited the family, said a police spokesman, adding that there had been no formal complaint about the conception. It was understood there was unlikely to be a complaint to the police, and the girl's family was being supportive. Police said the family had asked hospital officials to give no further details about the birth, and had asked for privacy.

Last September news emerged that a girl aged 12 from Torbay had become pregnant. An injunction to protect the girl's identity was granted to Torbay council by a High Court judge sitting in London.