Hunt for 'dead baby' called off

The woman wept as she left the message

Detectives say a call made to a health centre by a woman who said her baby had been killed was a hoax.

An investiagtion began on Tuesday 24 July after a recorded message was left on the answer phone of health visitor, Rebecca Calvert, at the Marton centre in Blackpool, Lancashire.

Police have now traced the woman and established that no child had been injured in any way.

A police spokeswoman said that the woman has not been arrested or taken into police custody and it was unlikely that any charges would follow.

Social services

The health trust and social services are now involved in the care of the woman.

Twenty officers from Blackpool's Family Protection Unit and health visitors visited all 224 families on Ms Calvert's list.

Ms Calvert covers visits for two doctors at the health centre on Glastonbury Avenue.

At the time of the call, a spokeswoman for Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Community Health Trust said: "The young woman was crying and said that her baby had been killed.

"Then the phone went dead."