Maria: Police Question Bulgarian 'Mother'

A woman in Bulgaria has confirmed she has been questioned by police about whether she is the mother of Maria, the blonde girl found in a Greek Roma camp.

Speaking to Bulgarian TV, Sasha Ruseva, 38, said she gave birth to a girl while working in Greece "several years ago", but had to leave the child because she did not have enough money to take her home.

It is also being reported that she is willing to take a DNA test, and take the child back if it is shown to be hers.

She insisted she did not get paid for giving up the girl. She had reportedly told one of her neighbours that she had sold the child for the equivalent of around £213, and that she had recognised Maria, when her discovery made headlines around the world.

According to reports Mrs Ruseva, who is married and lives in the central Bulgarian town of Nikolaevo, has between eight and 10 children, five of whom are blonde, and even closely resemble the girl found in central Greece last week.

Speaking on TV, Mrs Ruseva said: "I intended to go back and take my child home, but meanwhile I gave birth to two more kids so I was not able to go back."

Police in Bulgaria have declined to comment on the case.

Investigators in Greece have also refused to be drawn on their inquiry.

"We have nothing to say at the moment, there is no information to give," a police spokesman in Athens said.

Greek police have sought help from Interpol to help identify the blonde girl, whose discovery in a Roma camp near Farsala has sparked global interest.

Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, a Roma couple who claimed they were given Maria by her Bulgarian mother who could not care for her, have been charged with abduction.