Five babies' bodies discovered in house in France

The bodies of five babies have been discovered in a house in south-west France.

A newborn was found in a thermal bag near Bordeaux.

Four others were located in a freezer.

The 40-year-old father has been taken into custody. The 35-year-old mother is being treated in hospital.

It was the father who initially found the bag containing the first corpse of a newborn baby early yesterday at the family home, the source close to the investigation told AFP.

The mother apparently "gave birth at home alone", the source said, adding that she had been taken to a hospital in Bordeaux "for gynaecological and psychiatric examinations".

The woman "at this stage does not appear to have a history of mental illness".

Autopsies will be performed today to determine whether the babies were born alive, a source close to the case said.

“The 35-year-old woman, who has not yet been named, has been taken to hospital for medical tests, psychological tests, but also to confirm what police believe,” said Paris correspondent with the London Independent John Litchfield.

“Which is that she gave birth to the fifth child, the one that was originally discovered by the husband this Tuesday, that she had somehow concealed that pregnancy from not only her husband, but the rest of her family, including two teenage girls, that she has, [aged] 13 and 15, and that she’d done so on four previous occasions.”