A FORMER police constable has revealed the discovery of an abandoned baby in a toilet block 61 years ago was “one of the most shocking experiences” he ever encountered in his career.

A quiet whimpering from a carrier bag inside a public toilet in Abergavenny’s Bailey Park, in June 1958, caught the attention of Gwenllian Cornelius, as we previously reported.

Spooked, the Ebbw Vale resident rushed to the local police station in search of help.

Once there, she came across police constable Roy Wells, now 83, who has recalled the incident for the first time.

South Wales Argus: Roy Wells as a police constableRoy Wells as a police constable

“I was in the police station, sat on the other side of the desk, when she came over to me,” said the Chepstow resident.

“She said she had gone into the public toilet and seen a bag moving and making noises.

“I did not know what to think when she told me.”

The pair hurried to the park’s public toilet, where Mrs Cornelius pointed out the carrier bag resting against a toilet.

When the bag was opened, the shocking discovery would never fade from the pairs’ minds.

“I was in shock when I saw a baby boy,” said Mr Wells.

“We now know the baby was three-days-old. I could not believe he had been left. I had no idea how long he had been there.

“The incident was one of the most shocking experiences I had ever dealt with. Abergavenny was – and still is – a quiet place.

“It was unnerving before the bag was opened because it could have been anything in there. I thought it could have been an animal.

“It was an incident that had always troubled me.”

South Wales Argus: Roy WellsRoy Wells

He added: “After we found him, I took him to the hospital.”

That baby was Paul Garner, who was adopted shortly after being found and now lives in Essex.

He previously made an appeal last month for anyone with any information on what happened to him to make contact.

If you have any additional information, you are encouraged to e-mail tomos.povey@gwent-wales.co.uk