IT appears unlikely that an inquest will be held into the death of a baby girl found buried in a Darlington garden, police said last night.

The infant was discovered in a plastic box buried in a garden in Grange Road on February 24.

A woman claiming to be her mother has since come forward and told detectives she buried the stillborn baby seven years ago.

The child's funeral can only take place once the coroner has decided whether an inquest should be held.

Detective Inspector Paul Harker said: "Everything is pointing towards an inquest not taking place.

"What the evidence tends to suggest is that the baby was not alive at birth and the coroner isn't interested in an inquest if that is the case.

"We should find out shortly."

Detectives handed a file on the case over to the Crown Prosecution Service on Wed-nesday and Det Insp Harker said the coroner would want to know the outcome of the CPS inquiry before making a decision.

Concealing a birth and failing to register a birth are crimes.

He said that they were 99.9 per cent sure that the woman who came forward was the real mother, although that would not be confirmed until the results of DNA tests became available in the next few weeks.