Mother and father arrested after 8-day-old baby found dead with serious head injury

A mother and father from Lancashire have been arrested as part of a murder investigation into the death of their eight-day-old baby who died of a serious head injury.

Emergency services found Baby Ava Grace Nolan dead at an address in Nelson, six miles north of Burnley, on Wednesday (16 August) at about 11.20pm.

Lancashire Police officers were contacted by the ambulance service who attended the home, on Dover Street, after a baby had become unresponsive.

The baby was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital where she died a short time later and a post mortem examination to establish the cause of the baby's death took place.

It was later revealed that she died as a result of a serious head injury.

Lancashire Police said in a statement that a 26-year-old man and 27-year-old woman from Nelson were arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday (18 August).

Detective Chief Inspector Jill Johnston from the Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: "Firstly our thoughts remain with the family of the child at this extremely sad and distressing time. Our investigation into the baby's death is on-going and we are doing all we can to get to the truth of what happened to her.

"We have a team of specially trained officers conducting a number of enquiries and supporting the family."

The pair have since been bailed pending further enquiries.

A Dover Street resident, speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, said: "Police came on Thursday and left. Then they returned with white suits and spent a good amount of time inside the house."

They added: "It's madness, I thought something must have been up but I didn't think it was that serious."