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14th Apr 2023

Two arrested after newborn baby found dead at recycling centre

Charlie Herbert

Police have urged people not to speculate on the circumstances of the ‘tragic event’

A man and a woman have been arrested after a newborn baby was found dead at a recycling centre in Somerset.

Police were called to a waste and recycling centre on Artillery Road in the Lufton Trading Estate just after 2.30pm on Wednesday, after a member of staff found the body of a baby girl.

Officers then attended a vacant property in Yeovil.

In a statement released on Thursday evening (April 13), Avon and Somerset Police said a woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s had been arrested in connection with the discovery of the newborn following further enquiries.

They were both arrested on suspicion of concealing a birth, and have since been released under investigation.

Detective Inspector Ben Lavender said: “This is a very sad and distressing incident. We don’t yet know what has happened and are treating the baby’s death as unexplained at this time, pending the results of a post-mortem examination.

“In the meantime, it has been necessary to arrest a woman in order to interview her under caution and with the appropriate legal safeguards in place. Medical support was put in place while the woman was in custody.

“Our enquiries continue pending the results of the post-mortem examination which we don’t expect to have for some time so further updates are unlikely at this stage.”

He urged the public “not to speculate on the circumstances of this tragic event.”

Police confirmed to the MailOnline that the discovery was made at the YPH Waste Segregation and Recycling Facility.

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