Police have urged the mother of a newborn baby boy, who was found dead inside a Marks & Spencer bag outside a church in west London, to come forward.
A council refuse worker made the discovery after spotting the black bag with avocados on it outside All Saints’ Church, off Talbot Road in Notting Hill, at 12.46pm on Tuesday afternoon.
The Metropolitan Police on Wednesday reiterated calls for the mother, who is thought to have recently given birth, to come forward “for her welfare and health”.
Reading a statement to media outside the church on Wednesday morning, Superintendent Owen Renowden described the discovery as “tragic”.
He said: “I want to praise that professionalism in particular of the local refuse worker and also the responding emergency services who I know will have been deeply affected by the incident yesterday.
“As shocking and tragic as this is, my priority remains with a mother’s welfare and health.”
Marcia Haynes, deputy church warden at All Saints’ and a local resident, said she had “never heard anything like this in my life” after the discovery of the newborn.
She told reporters: “I came here to prepare for the foodbank and I just saw loads of police arriving and when I came out it was all taped over.”
Ms Haynes said when she found out a baby had died: “It just freaked me out, and I just had to abandon what I was doing and go home because I thought I was going to be ill, to be by honest.
“I’ve been here since 1966, I’ve never heard anything like this in my life.”
She said she let two female police officers into the church on Tuesday afternoon.
“Two women officers asked me if they could come in and search the church and I let them in, and they searched the toilets and all around the church,” Ms Haynes said.
“I presume they were looking for the mother in case she was hiding somewhere or something.”
A cordon which blocked off access to the street in front of the church had mostly been removed by Wednesday morning.
A small taped area off Clydesdale Road remained.
Bunches of flowers and a toy bunny were left by a tree near to where the police tent was on Tuesday night.
A lighted candle was left on a ledge outside the church, with a note which read: “God bless the little Baby x.”
Mr Renowden appealed directly to the mother, saying: “We are really worried about her wellbeing… she will have recently given birth.
“I know she will likely be feeling very frightened and going through an extremely difficult time.
“If you are the baby’s mother and you do see this today, I want to appeal directly to you to come forward and receive help.”
