British mum arrested on holiday in France after baby found dead

A British mother has been arrested in France on suspicion of suffocating her five-month-old baby at a holiday home in Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle.

The woman, in her 30s, was staying with her husband and their two children, the baby and three-year-old, in the Bayonne area.

SEE ALSO: Boy dies after suffocating in beach hole

SEE ALSO: Baby dies in accident on airport conveyor belt

According to The Local, Saturday was the last day of their holiday. The father woke up early and left the room before the mother got up later at around 9am. It was then that the father discovered the baby had died.

Deputy prosecutor Marc Mariee told AFP that police enquiries quickly focused on the mother, who was arrested.

The Daily Mail reports that a coroner visited the property and found that the baby's death was not natural and almost certainly caused by suffocation.

A post-mortem will be carried out next week.