Bradford waste tip baby ‘may have been dead for days’

West Yorkshire Police said the girl was white and she may have died two or three days before her body was discovered. A post-mortem examination was inconclusive.

The grim discovery was made by staff at a firm in Valley Road, on the Shipley border, in the early hours of Thursday.

Police have renewed their appeal for the mother of the newborn girl to come forward.

Detective Superintendent Sukhbir Singh said: “I thank members of the public who have contacted us so far. Our focus continues to be to identify this baby’s mother and I would urge her friends, relatives and neighbours to contact West Yorkshire Police.

“Somebody in West Yorkshire must know who the mother of this child is and I would ask them to provide the key piece of information we need to find her.

“We remain greatly concerned for the mother’s condition and welfare and want to ensure she gets the medical attention she deserves,” he added.

Police said some 97 loads of waste were delivered to the Valley Road unit on Wednesday, of which 51 loads were from Bradford and the remainder were from elsewhere in West Yorkshire.

Detectives have not ruled out the possibility the youngster may be from an area of West Yorkshire other than Leeds and Bradford.

Workers at the Associated Waste Management site were devastated by the tragic discovery of the baby’s body among rubbish.

The grim find was reported to police by a member of staff at the waste company.

Emergency services attended the scene but it was confirmed that the baby girl was already dead.

Bosses at the company, which is one of Yorkshire’s leading waste disposal firms, are also baffled about how security was breached at the Valley Road compound.

Company general manager Ian Bissell said: “We are still assisting West Yorkshire Police in their inquiry. It has been a difficult day for everybody.”

Staff had been very upset by what had happened, he added. “It is not pleasant. But we are providing as much help as we can.”