THE mother of a baby abandoned outside a Worcester home will face no criminal charges. 

The woman, who is in her 30s, was arrested on suspicion of child neglect in August after baby Joseph – as he was called by nursing staff who looked after him – was found in a hessian bag on the doorstep.

A county-wide appeal to find Joseph’s parents was launched on Thursday, July 18, after the baby was found in the Columbia Drive area of Lower Wick in the early hours.

His mother was granted bail until last Friday, when the Crown Prosecution Service told her no further action was to be taken and she was released without charge.

A man, also in his 30s, was arrested in August, also on suspicion of child neglect, but was released without charge in November.

After Joseph was found police were desperate to find his mother, releasing numerous pleas for her to come forward.

The breakthrough came at the end of August, when the two arrests were made, shortly after police revealed the baby’s mother had been traced.

The plight of Joseph, who was thought to be just 24 hours old when found outside the Lower Wick house, touched the hearts of Worcester News readers.

Among those to have been moved by the story were Worcester couple Kate and Jay Benstead, who run Leaff Design. 

They teamed up with Worcester’s Mangojuice Gallery to offer new baby cards with all proceeds going into a savings account opened for Baby Joseph.

After being cared for by midwives at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, the youngster was passed into the care of social services, who have confirmed that he is no longer in their care.