Dog walker describes shocking moment she found crying newborn baby in freezing London park

A dog walker and her son have described finding a baby girl abandoned in a shopping bag in London.

Wrapped in a blanket, the crying newborn was discovered in an east London park as freezing temperatures and snow gripped the capital late on Thursday.

Rima Zvaliauskas was walking her dog when she heard crying coming from a play area off Roman Road in Newham at around 10.15pm.

The former midwife said she was left “shocked and stressed” by the desperate discovery.

Her son, Lvidijus, told the BBC: “My mum at 10 o’clock in the evening was walking the dog and she heard a noise coming out from a bag.

“She rang me up because she was too scared to approach the bag. When I came I just found the baby in the bag and we phoned the ambulance and the police.”

Mr Lvidijus said the incident felt “unreal”, adding: “She just had a blanket on her and that’s it, in a Sainsbury’s shopping bag.”

It was extremely cold when the pair found the baby and it started to snow soon afterwards.

The baby was rushed to a hospital in east London where she is now being cared for by staff, who have named her Roman because of where she was discovered.

Police are continuing their efforts to find the baby’s mother. Officers have appealed for her to come forward so she can receive medical care and any other support she may require.

Appealing directly to her mother, Inspector Shane Clarke, of the North East Command Unit, said: “I urge you to make contact either with police, your local hospital or GP surgery. It is really important that we know that you are safe.

“I would also urge anyone who has information that could help us to reunite this baby with her mother to come forward.”

Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of the mother is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference CAD7825/31JAN or tweet @MetCC.