On a snow-flecked field a woman out walking her dog came across a tragedy. Lying on the frozen ground were the remains of a baby.
The child is thought to be not newborn but several weeks or even months old. Somewhere the mother is trying to cope with the trauma which led her to leave a tiny scrap of humanity on land just off a main road.
The discovery has triggered an outpouring of compassion for mother and baby from the local community in Little Hulton, Salford. A frost-covered carpet of sympathy cards, flowers, teddies, and perhaps most poignantly a little blue jacket with a fur-lined hood were left on a pavement for the child called Baby A by police.
The vital clue that could help establish identity of tragic baby discovered in Salford
The find was made at 12.22pm on Wednesday this week on Ashtons Field which is off Cleggs Lane near where it crosses the M61. The land is next to an industrial estate off Ravenscraig Road.
The baby was found near to an entrance to the field through a gate on Cleggs Lane, suggesting whoever left the child did not linger. Forensic officers have scoured the site for clues which may help identify who brought the child to the location.
A piece of pink fabric found with the child could be vital in helping to identify it. Police were able to confirm that the baby was wrapped in it.
Without doubt local people have been saddened and stunned by a tragedy which has resonated through the towns of Little Hulton and nearby Farnworth, Bolton. One woman wept as she placed flowers at the scene, and said: "I only live across the way, I didn't sleep last night thinking about that poor baby. We need justice for the baby, and for the community to have closure.....but we don't know what happened. Whether the mum needs help, or whether it was her child. She is out there somewhere. It's heartbreaking."
Amongst the cards left was one from Greater Manchester Police whose officers have the task of establishing the truth behind the circumstances of the baby's death. The results of a Home Office post mortem are expected to be known early next week.
In a bid to reach out to the child's mother, a GMP detective issued a carefully worded plea for her to contact them after the force consulted with a criminal psychologist via the National Crime Agency.
Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley addressing a press conference yesterday said: "This week, we have discovered the remains of a baby near to the layby off Cleggs Lane, by Ashtons Field in Little Hulton.
"Our investigation is in the early stages and we do not know the background or circumstances that have led to this baby being separated from the mum. We don't know the pressures the mum might have been under before she gave birth or in the time afterwards, but our priority is to find answers, and to make sure the mum is safe.
"We know that this baby's mum is somewhere out there, potentially watching this, and we would appeal for anyone who may know the mum or had their suspicions about her pregnancy to come forward so we can find her and speak to her.
"We will do everything we can to help the mum. Trained officers are ready to support her, no matter what the circumstances are, please contact us."
As each day passes the task of identifying the mother will become more difficult. If the appeal fails to make her come forward police face a painstaking job of liasing with the local council, GP practices, other agencies, and people living nearby to try and track her. But that is working on the assumption that she lives locally.
The baby's death has struck deeply with some. Tony Griffiths was one of many who visited the scene to pay his respects. Thirteen years ago he lost his own son, aged 19. He said: "I know what it's like to lose a child," as he placed red flowers, adding "The mother should come forward. She will have a family. It's such a tragic case.
"I feel sorry for the mother. It's sad all round - but she could need help and support and there isn't enough of that. Nobody knows yet what happened, but people will point the finger. She could have been in a mental health situation and didn't know what to do. It's sad all round."
Another woman, who lost her seven-year-old daughter to cancer, said: "I lost my daughter, I know the pain. It's such a shock to us all."
DCI Whalley said officers still don't know the gender, ethnicity and age of the baby, but are hoping those questions can be answered following a post mortem. "Hopefully next week we will have more answers on that. At the moment we just don't know" she said.
The baby was found by a lone female dog walker on Wednesday, she said. The woman who found it initially phoned a relative "in shock" but "then called us more or less immediately" she added with the call being made at 12:22pm.
"When the walker found the baby, it wasn't buried" DCI Whalley confirmed. "We are trying to establish if the baby had been buried prior to that."
She said detectives had been working with soil experts, anthropologists and archaeologists to 'try and establish how long the baby had been there.'
"I would hope they can provide us with some answers regarding that," she said. "We do believe there was some fabric on the baby, around the baby".
The fabric had been recovered and was being analysed, DCI Whalley said. "There was quite a lot of mud," she added.
She revealed that GMP are working with soil experts, anthropologists and archaeologists to 'try and establish how long the baby had been there.' She said there had been 'fantastic support from the community' amid a 'high level of emotion and grief.'
"If you've been to the scene, you'll have seen that, with all the tributes. People have been approaching us and giving us good information and we're following all lines of inquiry," she added.
For now, questions still remain around this tragic discovery. In the meantime, a community unites in shock and despair.