Britons dump baby at holiday airport

A baby boy was found abandoned near a Portuguese airport as his British parents boarded a flight to London.

The three-month-old child, who has a cleft in his upper lip, was discovered on Sunday wrapped in blankets in a stroller by a man walking his dog near Faro airport in the south of the country.

The boy's parents were thought to have left him before flying to Gatwick.

Their first names have been given as Katherine and Marc, aged 24 and 29 respectively, but the Portuguese authorities refused to reveal their surnames.

Under Portuguese law the couple could face a maximum of eight years in prison if found guilty of abandoning the child.

Captain Edmundo Emilio, a police spokesman, said: "We have informed British authorities who are searching for the couple."

The parents are understood to have been living in the tourist town of Albufeira on the Algarve while running a time-share business.

It is not known whether any note was left with the baby, who was taken to Faro's main hospital for checks.

A nurse recognised him and subsequently discovered that he had been born there in late October. She told police his mother had left the hospital before being formally discharged.

A Portuguese police source said: "We do not know why anyone would want to do this. The child has an identifiable harelip which is a relatively common birth defect for which surgery is usually successful. He is currently residing in a shelter for abandoned children. We are liaising with our counterparts in Britain, the Foreign Office and airline representatives to trace the parents."

A Foreign Office spokesman said the baby was in good health. He added: "We have spoken to the orphanage and our consul in the Algarve plans to visit there today. A police investigation is being carried out."