A baby girl less than an hour old was thrown away in a dustbin next to a toilet by her desperate mum. The abandoned newborn was naked and dumped in the bin used for discarded toilet paper in a department store’s public toilets.

The tiny tot’s cries were heard by other shoppers who raced to help, calling an ambulance and police to the scene. Customers wrapped their coats around the baby in a bid to keep it warm and safe.

It was soon taken to Haicheng Central Hospital in north eastern China, but as word spread about the girl, people turned up offering baby formula, clothes and toys for the girl.

Local media reported that the baby’s mother may have been too poor to raise her and took the heartbreaking decision to leave the baby.

Haicheng city police are investigating the case and are considering bringing charges against the mum.