Baby found in plastic bag

Baby Sam is being cared for in Selly Oak Hospital

A new-born baby has been found in a plastic bag in a shed in Birmingham.

West Midlands Police say the boy, believed to be only a few hours old, was discovered in a shed in the back garden of a house in Oakfield Road in the Balsall Heath area of the city on Thursday.

Children playing in the garden heard a noise in the shed and alerted their grandmother who found the unclothed baby boy wrapped in a plastic bag at about 1200 BST.

The 7lb 5oz baby has been named Sam, using the initials of the three paramedics who attended the scene.

Appeal to mother

Sam was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital for treatment and has since been transferred to Selly Oak Hospital where he is said to be doing "fine".

Paramedic Mick Fieldhouse said: "The baby was very hypothermic, very cold.

The baby was found in the garden shed of the house

"His heart rate had dropped a bit because he had been in the cold. I tried to warm him up best I could then the ambulance turned up.

"We did further warming en-route to the hospital and cut the cord."

Police say there is nothing to suggest the baby was born in the shed and are anxious to trace his mother who they say may be in need of medical help.

Detective Inspector Dave Scriven, of West Midlands Police, said the baby's mother could have come from outside the area.

"The baby is a white male and it would appear he was placed in the shed by someone perhaps not residents in the area, although there are some white families who live in the street.

"We are appealing for anyone who may have seen anything at the relevant time, two to three hours before we were called, to come forward."

Police are now carrying out house to house enquiries.