Tributes paid to dead baby found at waste depot one year on

Staff at the Associated Waste Management depot in Valley Road, Shipley, have laid floral tributes to the baby to mark the anniversary of the tragic find.

Police revealed they are talking to the Bradford coroner to try to get the child’s remains released for a funeral and are renewing appeals to find the mother.

Inquiries to uncover the circumstances of her death and trace her family are continuing.

Remains of the white baby girl, who was two to three days old, were discovered among rubbish by staff at the depot in Shipley in the early hours of May 19 last year.

Following the discovery, the plant was closed down while officers searched through piles of rubbish for clues to the baby’s identity.

And in the past 12 months, officers have sent 37,000 letters appealing for information to homes in Bradford, Leeds, and other areas of West Yorkshire which supplied waste to the depot.

Painstaking scientific work has now provided officers with a DNA profile of the child, which has narrowed down the hunt for the mother, though a matching profile is not on record. She is believed to be from West Yorkshire.

It is believed the baby’s delivery did not take place in a hospital and a post-mortem examination failed to ascertain a cause of death, which might never be known.

The baby had been named Catherine by depot staff, after Prince William’s bride.

AWM marketing manager Mike Robinson said staff, and a local residents’ association had raised the money to pay for the child’s funeral and a commemorative plaque.

He said: “It is going to be a sad day for the people involved at the site 12 months ago, and they will be holding their own memorial event privately.”

Anyone with information should contact Detective Sergeant Ian Lawrie, at HMET, on (01924) 334676. The team can also be contacted directly via e-mail at oppegar@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk. Information can also be given to CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.