Baby's body found in house attic

Neighbours spoke of their shock at the find

An inquiry has been launched after a baby's body was found in the attic of a house in south Wales.

Police said the child's remains were found on Sunday by the new occupants of the house in Penyfan View, on the Gurnos estate in Merthyr Tydfil.

Neighbours spoke of their shock at the discovery in what has been described as a quiet cul-de-sac.

Detectives are awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination, which they hope will reveal the cause of death.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Richards, of South Wales Police, said the incident was being treated as suspicious as the circumstances were unexplained.

"Until we establish what the cause of the events was, we can only treat it as suspicious," he said. "We don't know what happened. We don't know how the child died."

To think I could have been living there and that poor baby was upstairs. It is really shocking. Former tenant Lisa Morris

Officers said they were anxious to trace the three sets of former occupants of the modern, red brick house in Penyfan View, thought to have been built less than 10 years ago.

It is understood that the baby's remains were discovered by people who only moved in a week ago after the buying the property.

Neighbours said a man in his 20s had been unpacking and putting items in the loft.

He is reported to have noticed a smell coming from a suitcase. When he took it downstairs and opened it, neighbours said, he found a newborn baby's body wrapped in black bin bags.

Lisa Morris said she was emotional about the discovery

The sex of the child has not been established and the people who had recently bought the house have been temporarily relocated.

Det Ch Insp Richards said inquiries were continuing.

Lisa Morris, a former tenant of the property, who moved out in 2002. She described the news as "terrible".

"To think I could have been living there and that poor baby was upstairs, it is really shocking.

"I've got such mixed emotions. I'm a single mother, I had no reason to go up in the attic. I'm just really shocked about all this."

Shane Allen, a 34-year-old biomedical scientist, who lives in a neighbouring house, said the property had been empty since about Christmas.

"I couldn't believe it. It's not the sort of thing you expect to hear - especially in your own neighbourhood," he said.

Neighbour Shane Allen said the community is shocked

A shop assistant, who did not want to be named, said: "There are all sorts of rumours going around - everyone's talking about it."

A major incident room has been set up at Merthyr Police Station and as many as 20 officers are understood to be working on the case.

South Wales Police said that anyone with any information should contact the incident room confidentially on 01685 722541 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.