Police in plea to find mother, 17, who abandoned her new baby

An appeal has been launched to find a teenage mother who left a maternity unit and disappeared without her new-born baby.

Van Thi Dam, 17, left Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow last Saturday morning only hours after giving birth to her son, named Quy by care workers. He is healthy and being cared for by a foster family but police want to reunite him with his mother, who is Vietnamese and lived in the Harrow area.

She is 5ft 3in, slim and has straight, dark brown shoulder-length hair. She speaks English with a Vietnamese accent and was last seen wearing shiny black leggings, a dusky pink top and a tan leather jacket.

Pc Margaret Johnson, of Harrow's missing persons unit, said: "This is a heartbreaking case and we urge anyone who has seen this woman to contact us on 020 8733 4335."