Baby Boy Found Alive At Bottom Of Drain

A newborn baby has been found 2.5 metres down a drain in Sydney after cyclists passing by heard crying.

After pulling away the concrete drain cover they found the baby, thought to be two or three days old, lying at the bottom wrapped in a hospital blanket.

The child's mother, aged 30, has now been identified following hospital record checks and house-to-house enquiries in the Sydney suburb of Quakers Hill.

Police say she is assisting them with their investigation.

The alarm was raised by a group of cyclists riding along the bike track beside the M7 highway. They heard cries from the drain at around 7.30am on Sunday.

"It was disturbing (to see) how the child was placed in the drain," Quakers Hill duty officer Inspector David Lagats said.

"We all thought the worst but the baby was still alive."

Inspector Lagats said the boy had no signs of physical injury but was malnourished and remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

He added: "It would appear the striped blanket is similar to what is wrapped on babies in hospitals.

"I can also say the umbilical cord had been cut and had been clamped so it appears to have some sort of medical intervention since its birth."

Police suspect the baby was squeezed through the drain's narrow opening and dropped.

Sydney has been sweltering in temperatures above 30C and it's thought the baby would not have survived much longer if he hadn't been found.

David Otte, one of the passers-by, said: "We actually thought it was some kitten or something like that. It was only when we went down there and had a real good look at it that we could hear exactly what it was."

"That baby wouldn't have lasted an hour and a half," he told Fairfax Media.

"That baby had no chance if we and the other people hadn't been there. Something made us find that baby today."

Senior Constable Mark McAlister was one of the first officers on scene. He and a colleague helped rescue the baby.

"How could someone do it?" he told News Corp Australia.

"I, myself, have kids and we're expecting a baby in a few more months so it's not good that someone's going through this and has done this to a little one."