Baby snatched from hospital

Witnesses saw two women acting suspiciously

Police are searching for two women after a two-day old baby girl was snatched from a hospital in the West Midlands.

Officers were called to the Wordsley Hospital in Stourbridge at 1340 BST on Monday.

The parents of the infant, who was taken from a cot at the bottom of her mother's bed in the maternity ward, are said to be distraught.

Hospital staff said a new security system was due to be implemented in the next few days, but they were satisfied with the precautions already in place.

The baby was taken from a fourth floor ward

Police believe the two women they are looking for were working together and had been seen asking for directions to the maternity unit.

Superintendent Steve Rowell of West Midlands Police said: "I'm sure someone in the area knows the whereabouts of the baby.

"People may have neighbours, friends or relatives who have suddenly appeared with a baby and we would ask them to get in touch with the police immediately.

"One of the lines we are working on is CCTV pictures of the pair and we have descriptions of them.

"One woman is described as concealing what might have been a baby under her black puffer jacket. The second woman was carrying a child's car seat.

First suspect

White female aged 25-30

5ft 7ins tall

Short auburn hair

Stocky build

Wearing a black puffa jacket

"We are very keen to speak to these two women about what happened here.

"We are doing a major search of the hospital, both internally and externally.

"The maternity unit does have security locks on the doors but somehow they appear to have got into the unit, taken the baby from the cot and then left the hospital."

'Adequate security'

The abduction was discovered when the 32-year-old mother was woken to look at the twins.

The suspects were only on the ward for a matter of minutes, but police say they had been seen in other parts of the hospital.

Second suspect

White female aged 25-30

5ft 5ins tall

Short, straight, mousy hair

Large build

Wearing blue bomber jacket and white t-shirt with orange lettering

The hospital's head of midwifery Yvonne O'Connor said the baby had been taken from a bed beside a window in one of five six-bed rooms, outside of visiting hours.

"We are actually days away from implementing a baby tagging system," she said.

Asked whether current security measures were the best available, Ms O'Connor replied: "I am satisfied we had an adequate security system in place. A review of the system will be a priority."

Anyone with information about the baby has been urged to contact Halesowen police on 0845 113 5000.