Kingshurst mum pleads guilty to abandoning her day-old baby in city park.

A YOUNG mum from the Kingshurst area has admitted abandoning her new-born baby in the undergrowth of a city park.

The 26-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to child cruelty at Birmingham Crown Court today (Wednesday).

The baby, who had been wrapped inside a towel and toy shop carrier bag, is said to have been “close to death” when discovered by a dog-walker.

She had been left on an embankment at Marlborough House Community Park, in Stechford, on October 31 last year.

Police estimated that the day-old girl - named Jade by hospital staff - had been out in the cold for up to an hour.

Det Insp Richard Cox, who led the investigation, said: “She was blue and cold and medical staff were unable to register a temperature at first.
“Jade was a helpless new-born child, abandoned by her mother on a cold winter’s day in a park in a place where she was not visible to passers-by and where she could easily have been attacked by wild animals.

“It was only a huge stroke of luck that a local dog walker stopped to investigate after his dog became interested in a carrier bag hidden in undergrowth."

After recovering in hospital, the baby, now eight-months-old, was taken into foster care. She is said to be making good progress.

The court heard the girl’s mother had told no-one about her pregnancy and given birth in secret. Police said she had failed to respond to a high-profile appeal to come forward and had given no reasonable explanation for her actions during interview.

The defendant has been granted conditional bail and will be sentenced on July 3.