A dead baby was discovered hidden inside a meat freezer in Thailand.

The infant, estimated to be frozen for more than a year, was found gruesomely tucked inside a 4ft-tall fridge while a house was being renovated in Chiang Mai province.

Its skeleton - wrapped in a cloth - had dark marks all over while its skull apparently still had hair sticking out of it. Children's toys were also found at the scene as well as some cleaning materials.

The house owner Wirat Prapapan, 59, said he worked in another country and had just returned to his hometown for the improvement of his property when he found the baby.

He said: 'I bought energy drinks for the constructor and thought of storing it in the fridge but it was locked. When I broke it open, I smelled the stench and saw the baby’s body inside.'

Wirat added his relatives used to live in the property but had all moved out before he could return to the country from the United States to stay for two weeks.

He said: 'I had just returned to Thailand to stay for two weeks. I did not expect to be seeing this in my own house. I will renovate the house and pray for the baby.'

Authorities were called to the home for an investigation and found several fractures on the baby's skull while its gender was left unidentifiable due to its condition.

Police questioned Wirat’s mother Srinoi Prapapan, 83, who used to live in the house claimed that the baby belonged to Wirat’s 24-year-old stepson, Benjarong.

According to the elderly woman’s statement, Benjarong allegedly took the baby’s dead body home after his girlfriend had given birth to a stillborn.

Speaking with the police, she said: 'Two years ago, Benjarong took the baby's lifeless body home as he couldn’t stand the thought of losing a child. He requested the hospital for the baby’s body so he could handle the body himself.

'I remember being angry, I told him to bring the baby to the temple but he refused to. He asked me for a month and stored the baby’s body in the fridge.'

The baby was then reportedly left abandoned inside the freezer when Benjarong and his girlfriend were arrested for robbing a convenience store. The pair have not yet been released from jail due to their robbery charges.

The house owner's brother-in-law Thongchai Rakrungroj, 66, said the refrigerator used to be plugged but turned it off after noticing an unusually high electricity bill without knowing about the baby inside.

He said: 'Wirat was not home and I thought it was strange that the electricity bill was high so I came back to the house and pulled the fridge plug without checking what was inside as it was locked.'

Investigating officers would question the house owner's stepson as well his girlfriend. They would also be requiring more statements from Thongchai as he had been the property's caretaker while it was uninhabited.

However, Major General Thawatchai Pongwiwattanachai said officers have not found any crime committed so far.

He said: 'From the evidence collected we found that there was no offence committed under any law.

'The baby died in the womb and the woman who had given birth also has all the documents. Police will deliver the baby’s body to relatives for a funeral.'

The house's renovation would be resumed after all pieces of evidence have been collected from the property while the baby would be given a funeral by the homeowner.