Baby by river 'had head injuries'

A set of pyjamas are clues to finding the mother

A newborn girl whose body was found by a Warwickshire river had suffered several injuries including a fractured skull and collarbone, police have said.

The baby's body was found in Aston Cantlow near Stratford-upon-Avon on 11 May by a family walking along a footpath on the River Alne.

Police named her Lilly, a reference to the water near where she was found.

Children's and women's clothing were recovered from the scene and police said they are "significant" clues.

Det Ch Insp Adrian Pearson, of Warwickshire Police, said Lilly was found in a Mothercare bag.

Baby Lilly has a family, she has a mother, grandparents, brothers and sisters perhaps Det Ch Insp Adrian Pearson

She was newly born and still had her umbilical cord attached.

Mr Pearson said: "Since the discovery of her body, we've been able to establish that she suffered significant and traumatic head injuries after she was born.

"We believe that she died very soon after birth, but that she didn't sustain those injuries in the course of birth or in the course of pregnancy. They were inflicted on her very soon after she was born."

The discovery of clothes and other items nearby, including women's underwear and tea towels, could be a cry for help, police believe.

Mr Pearson showed an artist's impression of Lilly as well as photographs of items found in the "big bag of clues".

"Baby Lilly has a family, she has a mother, grandparents, brothers and sisters perhaps," he added.

Artists have created an impression of baby Lilly

"But we need to know her background and how she came to lose her life in tragic circumstances.

"She had not been cared for at all. There were no nappies or anything."

Included in the bag were a pair of women's pyjamas, size 12-14, sold by BHS in 2002, a pair of women's pants, size 12, from Debenhams, and a collection of tea towels.

"[The towels] were not wrapped around her, they were not comforting her or dressing her, they were just abandoned in the bag with her," said Mr Pearson. "Why did someone do this?"

A dishcloth and a pair of black socks were also found inside the Tesco bag which was left along with a Mothercare bag.

Shards of electric flex were found nearby and a woman's belly button ring with a turquoise stone was found in a nearby layby.

Lilly was discovered at a remote scene, six miles from Stratford and four from Alcester on 11 May.

Police now believe she had been left there by 1900 BST on 10 May.

Despite numerous appeals for information about the body, police had only taken 30 calls in the last 10 days.