Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said the police were called in the early hours of Thursday morning by a passerby who noticed a plastic bin in an open field.

When police arrived, they found the body of girl thought to be around the age of three. She had been stabbed in her upper body.

Police are investigating whether the child is the same girl who was reported missing by her mother on Wednesday in the same area.

No arrests have been made and police have asked the public for any information they may have concerning the death of the child.

eNCA