Baby found in drain next to busy motorway

Baby abandoned in drain on Sydney motorway

A baby has been found abandoned in a drain next to a busy Sydney motorway.

Cyclist David Otte and his daughter Hayley discovered the baby after hearing noises while on a bike track off the M7 motorway.

The pair first of all thought the noise they heard was a kitten.

According to kidspot.com.au, David said: "We actually thought it was a kitten at first, but when we went down there we could hear exactly what it was, you could definitely tell it was a baby screaming.

"We're just thinking about the little fella, he's a beautiful, beautiful baby."

Police had to lift a concrete slab to rescue the baby, who was taken to a local hospital. Officers believe the baby, who was found early in the morning, would not have survived the rest of the day in the searing heat.

He is said to be around two to three days old, and is in a serious but stable condition, suffering dehydration and malnourishment.

The baby's umbilical cord had been cut and clamped, so police believe it was born at a hospital.

The baby's mother, a 30-year-old from Quaker's Hill, has now been found by police, and is being questioned, reports ABC News.

Family and Community Services regional director Lisa Charet said incidents like this were rare but they did happen and usually because parents were "in a fairly desperate place".

Speaking to The Australian, she said: "Often when this sort of thing happens people are in a place of desperation.

"We've had cases where mothers have had Postnatal Depression or are very young and don't know where to go to find help. You have to be in a fairly desperate place to commit this act."