A woman with mental health problems stole a newborn baby from the Hospital Donostia in San Sebastián this morning whilst his parents were sleeping.  She was tracked down an hour later and the baby was unharmed.

The incident occurred around 6.30am, when the woman made her way into the hospital's maternity ward and helped herself to the baby, taking advantage of the fact that the baby's parents were sleeping, and then took a taxi to the Herrera district of the city. She allegedly told everyone she came across that she was the baby's aunt (the mother's sister).

The health authorities have confirmed that the woman, who has spent time in the Psychiatric ward of the same hospital, took the baby, telling people she was his aunt and was taking him for a check-up.

Staff's suspicions about her behaviour, coupled with footage from the hospital's secutrity cameras, allowed for a quick identification of the perpetrator and prompt action by the local police and Basque civil guard meant she was found within an hour of taking the baby. A witness statement from the taxi driver who dropped the woman close to a bar in errera, also helped locate the woman quickly.

The baby is completely unharmed by the experience and back safely with his parents.

The police have opened an investigation into the incident.