A newborn baby was rescued after being dumped among a pile of rubbish bags and bitten by swarms of mosquitoes.

The 6.5lbs infant was wrapped in pink blankets and abandoned in the litter behind a row of wheelie bins in Chonburi, Thailand.

Bin man Anucha Boonkhai, 18, was picking up the sacks to put into a dumpster when he noticed the unusual package and opened it.

The teenager was shocked when he saw the infant surrounded by flies and ants.

The baby was smudged with blood and still had his umbilical cord attached, suggesting he had been born only a few hours before.

Police arrived at the scene and took the baby to hospital where he has been recovering ever since.

Anucha said: ''I loaded all of the rubbish from the bins then looked at the blankets on the ground. I thought at first there was nothing there, but I picked them up to check.

''That’s when I saw the baby. He was breathing but he wasn’t crying and there were lots of mosquitoes and ants on him.''

The emergency services arrived and an ambulance took the baby to the nearest hospital. Nurses have been looking after him for the last few days.

Police are now investigating the case and trying to find the mother.

Lieutenant Colonel Somsak Jail-la from the Phan Thong police station said: ''At the scene of the incident, the garbage collector was standing carrying a newborn baby, weighing about 3,000 grams. There were traces of amniotic fluid attached to him. He also had mosquito marks and ant bites. Doctors examined the baby and he is now safe.''