Abandoned baby admitted to hospital

The baby is being looked after at an orphanage

The British baby abandoned in Portugal by its parents has gone to hospital for medical tests.

The three-month-old baby, named Charles, has a cleft lip, which requires urgent operation, and a cleft palate which can be remedied later.

Doctors will assess Charles to see whether he is ready for surgery.

His mother is alleged to have abandoned him in Portugal and could face extradition proceedings.

Extradition order

Police in the UK say they will not press charges against Katherine Penny, 23, from Basingstoke in Hampshire.

But the Portuguese authorities are still considering whether to make an extradition order for her.

They must decide whether to return the child to its natural parents or put it up for adoption in Portugal, where there is a waiting list of prospective adoptive parents for young babies.

Charles was found abandoned in a pushchair in the town of Albufeira, near Faro airport, on Sunday morning.

Motoring offences

Miss Penny and her partner Mark Beddoes had gone voluntarily to Bournemouth police station on Tuesday asking to talk to officers about their son.

Miss Penny was arrested over unconnected "minor motoring offences", a Dorset police spokesman said.

Detective Sergeant Neil Claughton said neither Mr Beddoes, 29, nor Miss Penny were under any obligation to return to police concerning the alleged abandonment.

"The child protection office spoke to the woman who gave an account of events in Portugal.

Maximum penalty

"In relation to these events she is under no obligation to return to Bournemouth police station," he said.

Under Portuguese law the maximum penalty for abandoning a child is eight years in prison.

Mr Beddoes, from Bournemouth, has reportedly said that he was duped by his partner into believing that the baby was being put into care in Portugal.

But the boy was only taken to a care home after being found abandoned on Sunday.

Timeshare workers

Mr Beddoes is also said to have denied being the baby's father.

Portuguese police said the couple lived in the Algarve resort and worked in the timeshare industry.

Mr Beddoes has said he only agreed to leave the child because the couple were desperate for money, and has promised to return to Portugal as soon as he had saved enough.

His friend Paul Green told the BBC that Mr Beddoes had suggested the couple go to the police.