A mother was expected to be reunited with the newborn boy she abandoned on the doorstep of a bungalow.

The woman, who is in her early 20s and lives near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was traced on Monday night - after police released the emotional letters written by her in which she begged for forgiveness for leaving the infant on the doorstep of a retired couple's home in Sawtry in the county.

The woman, who is not being named, is undergoing medical checks but seems well.

A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire County Council's social services department, which has care of the child, said the woman would be reunited with her baby if that was what she wanted.

The former civil servant who found the baby, named Patrick Brian by nurses, said he was delighted by the news and would love to give mother and baby a hug.

Lance Ayres, 70, and his wife Beryl, 68, were woken by what they thought was an animal in distress in the early hours of Sunday March 18.

"We're absolutely delighted," said Mr Ayres. "We've been praying for the mother constantly. We just see it as heavenly providence that she left the baby here and he cried to wake me."

The mother delivered a package of anonymous letters to Mr and Mrs Ayres' home over the weekend.

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