The heartbreaking story of an unknown baby girl whose body was found dumped on a footpath in Oxford has proved incredibly moving for those involved.

The funeral of the abandoned baby will be held next week as efforts to find the mother have failed.

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Detective inspector Jim Holmes broke down with grief today as he made a last-ditch appeal for the girl’s mother to come forward ahead of her funeral next Tuesday.

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The little girl has been named Raihana – heaven’s flower – by Detective Holmes who is still hoping her mother will make contact.

Officers have encouraged the public to attend the “pauper’s service” at Wolvercote Cemetery, north of Oxford, as no one has been able to find her family.

“Having two children myself I know how hard it is to choose the name for your child and in these circumstances, I think it is more important, this is the only memorial there is going to be” Holmes said.

Thames Valley Police detectives have invited members of the public to the service in Oxford. The baby, which was stillborn, was discovered hidden in a plastic bag in undergrowth next to a public footpath in Matson, Oxon.

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