A teenage mum was arrested for allegedly abandoning her newborn baby in her neighbour's yard in Thailand.

The youngster, 15, had given birth to the baby girl at her home in Ayutthaya province late evening on February 22.

Believing she could not support the baby financially, the terrified teen bundled it up in a blanket and left it under a tree in her neighbour's yard in the wee hours of February 23.

Resident Amara Chalaopak, 63, discovered the child when she went outside after hearing cat-like noises near the garden.

She found the baby already clean and swaddled in a towel, but shivering and covered in insect bites.

Another neighbour, Thanapon Wongphuthorn, 28, said he had heard similar noises, but ignored them as stray cats frequented the neighbourhood.

The shocked locals called police and medics to take the baby girl to the hospital.

Police Colonel Wuttichai Sukontawit, superintendent of the Maharat Police Station, said: 'The baby girl was left under a gooseberry tree and covered in a single towel.

'The person who left her there wanted her to be found and adopted.

'We were able to identify the mother when checking surveillance cameras in the area. She is only 15 years old, and lives with her 70-year-old grandmother. Her parents are separated.'

The girl was summoned to the police station, where she appeared 'exhausted with sallow skin'.

She claimed she did not know she was pregnant despite her belly swelling. She added she unwittingly pushed the baby out of her vagina while going to the toilet.

She then cut off the umbilical cord herself and left the child at her neighbour's home.

The girl has been taken to the Maharat Hospital for a check-up. When she is discharged, she will be taken to the Juvenile and Family Court according to the Child Protection Act.

Meanwhile, investigations found that the father of the child was the girl's ex-boyfriend living in Ang Thong province.

Mueang Ang Thong Police Station officers said he will be investigated for having sex with a minor.