This is the beautiful baby girl who was left abandoned in a bag outside a Derbyshire kebab shop when she was just a few hours old.

The 10lb 11oz baby, pictured with Midwife Pauline McGill of Derby City General Hospital, was discovered outside the back door of Star Kebabs in Pelham Avenue, Ilkeston, at about 7pm on Saturday.

She was wearing a white vest and was wrapped in a white blanket. She had been placed in a holdall, with her umbilical cord still attached. Police are hoping this picture will be enough to reunite her with her mother.

The girl, who has been named Angela, is being looked after by staff at Derby City General Hospital but will probably be passed on to foster carers while attempts are made to find her mother.

Zeki Yilmazer, 33, of Norman Street, Ilkeston, had been visiting friends in the kebab shop when he discovered the baby.

He was fixing his car in Pelham Avenue when he heard a whimpering noise.

Mr Yilmazer said: "At first I thought it was a cat crying but it started to get louder. Then I saw the bag on the floor near the back door and, when I went up to it, I saw it was moving.

"I thought it may have kittens or puppies in it but, when I opened it, I saw a baby. I couldn't believe my eyes."

Police have already carried out house-to-house inquiries in the area and will be studying closed circuit TV footage in the coming days in the hope of spotting the baby's mother carrying the holdall before she abandoned Angela.

The police say that it is vital they trace the mother because she may need urgent medical help after giving birth to such a large baby and have urged her to go to a hospital or police station.

Detective Sergeant Ian Penman said: "Our main concern is for the mother. We want to check she is okay. There is nothing for her to be worried about as far as the police are concerned."

People living near where the baby was found were shocked by the discovery. Brenda Smith, 55, whose home backs on to Pelham Avenue, said she saw the blue bag as she walked her dog along Pelham Avenue at 6.15pm on Saturday.

"The bag was zipped up and looked quite out of place in the street. But I had no idea there was a baby inside it and didn't really think anything of it."

Darrel Wright, 37, also of Lord Haddon Close, said: "You hear about things like this in big cities but not in a small town like Ilkeston - you just don't expect this sort of thing to happen on your doorstep."

Angela's future will be decided by social services. Mary Jackson, senior midwife at the City General, said the newborn had already proved a hit with staff in the hospital's Derbyshire Suite.

She said: "She is absolutely beautiful. She is feeding well and sleeping well. She is very content and, in other circumstances, she would be allowed to go home.

"As far as we are concerned she is perfectly healthy - we just want to reunite her with her mother."

Story and pictures courtesy of the Derby Evening Telegraph