Woman admits burying newborn baby alive before the infant's body was dug up by a fox

A woman living rough in a graveyard has admitted burying her newborn baby alive.

39-year-old Latvian Elita Amantova was living off berries and bread left out for the birds in Tooting in south London, before she gave birth in 2012.

The tragic death was discovered after a fox dug up the baby on Tooting Common and dumped body parts in a nearby tractor yard.

At the Old Bailey, Amantova, who suffers from mentally health problems, admitted infanticide and was sentenced to a hospital order.

The court heard she had been diagnosed with a schizophrenia-type mental condition in Latvia in her 30s but it was made worse by childbirth.

Prosecutor Zoe Johnson QC told how Amantova had an "appalling experience" after she came to the UK in 2008.

After losing her job, she found herself in the company of organised criminals in Norfolk who set her to work as a prostitute. In August 2012, she fled to London where she was found sleeping rough in a burial ground off Garratt Lane in Tooting.

The court heard that by then she was heavily pregnant sleeping on grave stones and wearing a blonde wig. A member of the public became concerned about her condition and alerted authorities.

As a result, a police constable tried to persuade her to go into suitable accommodation but she refused help and officers decided there was nothing more they could do.

She told police in a prepared statement that she gave birth to a child in August 2012 and she buried it in a park on the same day.> She said she thought she knew who the father was but had no contact with him and he was unaware of all the events.> Judge Paul Worsley QC said infanticide was a "rare offence" and while "the court must always mark the serious fact a life has been taken", a hospital order was appropriate in the circumstances of this case.> The judge said that due to the enduring illness the defendant was suffering, she would probably need lifelong treatment and care.