Abandoned baby's mother sought

Baby Sam is being cared for in Selly Oak Hospital

The mother of a new-born baby, found abandoned in a plastic bag in a shed in Birmingham, has so far failed to come forward.

Children playing in a 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 on Thursday.

He was discovered in a shed in the back garden of a house in Oakfield Road in the Balsall Heath area of the city.

The 7lb 5oz baby, named Sam after the initials of the three paramedics who attended the scene, is said to be recovering well in hospital.

Appeal to mother

Sam was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital for treatment and has since been transferred to Selly Oak Hospital.

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."

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."