A newborn baby boy was rescued by Surrey Estate residents on Monday night after the child was found abandoned on a pavement.
Residents got a skrik when they unwrapped the blankets and found the infant sleeping inside, along with a baby bag.
CCTV footage has emerged on WhatsApp groups of an unknown woman, thought to be the mother, wandering around the area carrying a baby.
Roshan Ajouhaar, 48, says she was running to the shop and got a fright to see the baby placed next to a vehicle in Aries Road just after 8pm.
“It happened quite late and it was raining and dark. We were going to go to the shop and we came outside and the baby was lying next to the wheel of a 4x4 van,” she says.
“Somebody must have just placed it there before we came out because the baby was still warm and covered with blankets.”
She says as they went closer, they heard the baby cooing.
“I picked the baby up and went to my friend and asked her to call the police,” says Roshan.
“He must have just been a few days old or just released from the hospital because it was a pap baby.
“The mother’s toothbrush and toothpaste and her biscuits were still in the bag.
“There were newborn baby clothes in the bag and the child was clean and warm and beautifully dressed.”
Roshan says residents went to look at a nearby veldjie if the mother was still in the area before rushing the child to hospital.
“There is a field opposite the house and I was looking around to see if she was maybe hiding somewhere and maybe she was afraid.
“We obviously cannot say because we don’t know what her circumstances are.
“But it was dark and there are no lights, so you cannot see on the field.
“We took the baby to the Mowbray Maternity Hospital and spoke to the head sister and doctors and they checked on the baby and I left my name and number.”
Hospital spokesperson Natalie Watlington confirmed the baby was taken to Mowbray Maternity Hospital shortly before 9pm.
“Western Cape Government Health can confirm the baby was brought to Mowbray Maternity Hospital at 8.45pm by a Surrey Estate resident.
“It was a newborn baby boy and the child is in stable condition. The police were informed of the case and the baby is still at Mowbray Maternity Hospital.”
Manenberg police say no formal report has been lodged at the station yet.
Meanwhile, Roshan confirms the blanket carried by the woman in the video was the one found wrapped around the abandoned baby when he was found.
monique.duval@iln.co.za