30 July 2012 Last updated at 07:34 ET

Placenta found in South Woodchester was from baby boy

The placenta was found in woodland near Stroud last Thursday

A placenta found in a bag in a Gloucestershire woodland was from a baby boy, police have said.

Gloucestershire Police said tests confirmed it to be from the birth of a boy of about 20 weeks' gestation.

It was found on Thursday in South Woodchester near Stroud by a dog walker on a track that leads from Bospin Lane to Selsley Common.

Medical equipment, including a bowl, towels and items commonly used by midwives, were also found in the bag.

Det Insp Steve Bean said: "Although we were always relatively certain the placenta was from a human, it was not until it was tested in a laboratory that we could be sure.

"The testing has now been carried out and we can say for certain that it was from a human birth.

"We have also had it confirmed, through DNA testing, that the placenta would be from the birth of a baby boy."

Police said they were continuing an investigation into the discovery, and further DNA testing would be carried out, in the hope of identifying the mother.

Inquiries had been made with local maternity units, but none of them had admitted a woman who had given birth to a baby of that age, they added.