Police were yesterday continuing to search for a mum after a newborn baby boy was abandoned on a doorstep – inside a Woolworths shopping BAG.
The little lad, named Joseph by nurses who are now caring for him, was discovered wearing just a baby grow – with no nappy – and wrapped in a blanket.
He was found outside a house which belonged to childminder Adrienne Hunt, 43, at 4.30am on Thursday morning.
It is believed the distraught mum did not give birth in a hospital and panicked before leaving the tot outside the house on Oakville Close in Lower Wick, Worcester.
Mrs Hunt and her husband Jon, 44, were woken when a person, believed to be the baby’s mother, rang the doorbell but fled leaving the baby in a hessian bag labelled ‘Woolworths The Difference – a community based project’.
The shocked homeowner dialled 999 and the tiny tot, who weighed just 5lbs 8oz, was rushed to Worcestershire Royal Hospital where doctors estimated he was just 24-hours old.
Speaking today, Mrs Hunt said the family had been left shock and urged the baby’s mother to come forward.
She said: “I haven’t had much time to process it. it was a shock, why was he there?
“He was in a bag and I picked him up and called out for a mum but there was no response.
“It was surreal and something I wasn’t expecting and something I don’t think anyone is prepared to deal with.
“You do what you can in the situation.
“If his mum saw here a safe place for him to be I don’t want her to be afraid to come back to us.
“I am respecting this lady and if she wants to come back and talk I don’t have any judgement.
“I respect her privacy like I would any other mother, she was entrusting her child to me and I would like to respect that.”
Mr Hunt added: “It was about 4.15am and our doorbell rang for a sustained time and obviously woke us.
“My wife went to the front door and upon opening it there was no-one there but there was a bright-coloured canvas bag on the doorstep.
“It was half closed but we very quickly established there was a young baby in the bag.
“My wife picked up the bag and stepped back inside the house.
“It then occurred to us to look around and see who might have left it but there was no sign of anybody, no car pulling away, no footsteps or anything like that.
“My wife is a registered childminder and she’s got things like paediatric first aid so she was checking him over for any signs of distress while I called the police.
“He seemed in pretty good shape as far as health was concerned. He was was relatively clean.
“He didn’t have a nappy on but he was dressed in a vest and wrapped in a think blanket and quite calm.
“He wasn’t crying or anything like that although I am guessing he could have been hungry and a little bit weak but nothing too serious.”
Hospital staff and police urged Joseph’s mum to come forward on Thursday over concerns for her health as they believe he was not born in a hospital.
And they were still desperately searching for her today.
Patti Paine, head of midwifery at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said the boy’s ethnicity was still uncertain and they believed the mother had tried to conceal the pregnancy.
She added: “He is a lovely little boy.
“He is being very well looked after by the staff here and is doing very well.”
Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Williamson, from West Mercia Police, also urged the mother to come forward to seek treatment.
The new mum can call 01905 760663 which will be manned 24-hours-a-day by a midwife.
