Baby

The body of a newly-born child was found in a ditch on Holywater Meadows in Bury.

It was found by an 11-year-old boy who lived in Boyne Road as he was fishing in the ditch. He said that he thought he saw a doll lying in the bottom of the stream and that when he dragged it out with a stick, he realised that it was a baby and told the police.

A policeman that attended the scene said that there was about two and a half feet of water in the ditch.

The doctor that carried out the post-mortem said that the child was not drowned and said that the child died from skull fractures.

The coroner said that there was little evidence before them to bring a verdict of murder or manslaughter and so an open verdict was returned.