Bristol: Body Found In Avon Gorge

4 December 2014, 18:21 | Updated: 4 December 2014, 19:09

Police in Bristol say they have found the body of a woman, and what they believe is that of her newborn baby girl, on cliffs in the city's Avon Gorge.

Charlotte Bevan, 30, was formally identified earlier on Thursday. 

She was reported missing earlier this week, after walking out of a maternity unit on Tuesday night with her four-day-old baby daughter Zaani Tiana on one of the coldest nights of this winter, where temperatures hovered just above zero. 

Police say the 30 year old left St. Michael's without a coat or shoes, and was thought to be wearing hospital slippers, while her baby was only wrapped in blankets.

A spokesperson for the hospital trust for St. Michael's said everybody there was ''deeply saddened'' to hear of Charlotte's death. 

It also promised a ''thorough review'' to see if there was anything they could have done to prevent her death. 

In a statement, the mum's family thanked the hospital staff, the mental healthcare team, police and rescue volunteers, also paying tribute to the ''overwhelming support of the public''. 

The Head of Charlotte's old school of Wells Cathedral said they remember her with ''great affection'' and their ''thoughts and prayers are with her family at this terrible time''. 

Charlotte's mother, Rachel Fortune, said: ''My beautiful daughter and grand-daughter are now at peace.''