Abandoned for his first Christmas, baby found in a park
KICKING and gurgling in his cot, this baby boy is blissfully unaware of the drama surrounding his entrance into the world.
The infant is facing his first Christmas without a family after his mother abandoned him in a park soon after birth.
Midwives named the newborn Harry – after Prince Harry, who visited the London borough where the baby was found a few weeks before.
After a short spell in hospital, the baby was taken into local authority care and is being looked after by a foster family. But police are still desperate to trace his mother and yesterday they released new footage of Harry in the hope of prompting her to get in touch. Dressed in a red and white festive-looking babygro, Harry can be seen wriggling, gurgling and kicking his legs in the film, which was taken when he was around a month old.
Although detectives say the baby boy, now three months old, is ‘doing well,’ they admitted they are ‘increasingly concerned’ for his mother’s welfare. A source said: ‘It is a very sad story. The feeling is that the mother is long gone.
‘People have questioned what is behind this but you only have to consider what could make you abandon your child. She must have felt that whatever future he had with strangers was better than what she could have offered. He is bright, bonny, fit and well. He has no idea about what has happened or that he faces Christmas without his family. It is heart-breaking, but the outcome if no one had discovered him in the park is too awful to contemplate.’
The London Ambulance Service was called by a passer-by to a park, close to Balaam Street, in Plaistow, East London,
‘Constant contact with hospitals’
just before 8.30am on September 17. Harry was found by a man said to be in his 40s – and a new father himself – wrapped in a white blanket and detectives quickly cordoned off the area.
But despite investigations, no trace of his mother has been found. It is believed health workers were inspired to name the baby in honour of Prince Harry after he visited another park in the borough over the summer. He spent an afternoon with a campaign team aiming to keep youngsters occupied during the holidays. The prince visited Central Park, which is just a mile away from where baby Harry was found.
Detective Inspector Debbie McCormack, of the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘We have been in constant contact with hospitals throughout London to see if Harry’s mother has sought medical attention but we have yet to identify her. We are growing increasingly concerned for her welfare.’
Anyone with information should call 020 8217 6538 or 101.