A woman who was abandoned more than half a century ago when she was just days old has re-launched her quest to find out more about her past.

Marian Smith's mother asked a woman to look after her while she went into a shop in West Street, Erith, south-east London, on March 30, 1948. But she never returned.

Now living in the Worthing area, Mrs Smith has only just found out precisely where she was abandoned and got hold of her birth certificate.

She has appealed for help in tracing her real family in south east London's News Shopper.

The 57-year-old, who has two grown-up daughters and three grandchildren, said: "I just want to see if I can find any answers.

"It's really a case of if anyone has any knowledge of that time. I'm not holding out a lot of hope. If someone's been holding this secret for so long they're not going to come forward straight away. They're going to cut out the story and mull over it for a while - I know I would."

Mrs Smith has tried to find out more over the years, but the council and police documents, and paperwork held by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, have been destroyed.

The legal secretary is aware a reunion might not be possible because her mother would be in her seventies.

But she said: "Even if I found out and they didn't want anything to do with me at least I would have a name to trace and have a chance of finding out a bit more about my origins."

A month after she was found, she was admitted to Beltinge Nursery in Herne Bay, Kent, where she was named Pauline Austen after the matron's mother.

Her adoptive parents eventually took her in November once her birth certificate was issued.

She was renamed Marian, but did not realise until she was 27 that Austen was not her biological mother's name, nor that her date of birth of March 20, 1947, was given to her by a court.

Mrs Smith recalls being a nervous child, despite having a good upbringing and being well-loved.

She said: "I was told about my birth when I was seven, which was the recommended age. I don't remember having any particular reaction to the news but I do recall having a few problems when I was eight or nine.

"The police seemed to think my biological mother had come out from London to Kent to find me. They reckoned I came from a good family. I haven't a clue why they would think that.

"I'm not angry with her. Having had two children of my own, carrying them for nine months, I realise leaving or giving a baby away would be very difficult. I'd just like to know why."

Anyone with information can call Lucy Brinicombe in confidence on 01273 544527.