UK: Newborn baby girl found dead in pub toilet in Leeds; police launch search for mother

A newborn baby girl was found dead in a pub toilet in the United Kingdom. The police have launched an urgent search for the mother.

On Sunday (Jan 28), police found the body of the baby in the Three Horse Shoes in Oulton, Leeds. Detectives have urged the mother to come forward and seek medical help.

According to the West Yorkshire Police, someone at the pub made the "tragic" discovery when the place was packed with customers for its Carvery Sunday lunch at around 04:45 pm local time. The authorities immediately called the paramedics, who confirmed the baby was deceased at the scene, the Mirror UK reported.

James Entwistle of the Major Enquiry Team said, "This is a tragic incident and we are urgently appealing for the mother of the baby girl to contact us or seek medical help as she has been through an extremely traumatic ordeal and could well need treatment herself."

"If the mother is comfortable speaking to the police then she can do so by calling 101 or she can use LiveChat online to talk to us remotely at Live Chat | West Yorkshire Police. Our enquiries into the incident remain ongoing today with NHS partners but our main priority remains the mother's welfare and safety," he added.

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The pub posted an apology on Facebook on Sunday. It stated, "I've been writing post after post for the past hour but I don't think right now is the best time given the circumstances…. We're sure there's speculation of something that happened at our establishment this evening. All I can say at the minute is I'm sorry to everyone who was with us during the time this happened and to all that was due to come in and couldn't."

"A massive thank you to those that helped us whilst we were struggling as a team it really doesn't go unappreciated. Lots of love Team Three Horse Shoes, " it added further. According to reports, the pub staff was "visibly upset" by the discovery. However, they continued to work in the "clearly disturbing circumstances."

People comforted the pub staff by commenting on the Facebook post. Lee Connor said, "You were amazing and everyone understands that you will need time to process and be with your friends and family to offload what was a nightmare of a situation."

(With inputs from agencies)