Two boys playing on a beach in Sydney have stumbled across the body of a baby buried naked under the sand, police in Australia have said

The infant's body was discovered about 30cm under the sand at a beach in Sydney, Australia, by two young boys digging.

The shocking discovery was made on the southern end of Maroubra beach on Sunday morning.

Inspector Andrew Holland, of New South Wales police, said the "very small infant child" was buried naked near the edge of some sand dunes.

The boys who found the body were six and seven years old. They were reported to be traumatised and have received counselling.

"The children were digging - the child was buried under about 30 centimetres of sand," Mr Holland said.

"The two young children reported to their father who was nearby, who in turn contacted police.

"Unfortunately due to the decomposition, we can't tell (the age of the baby) at this point."

Mr Holland said it was not clear how long the body had been there, but a post-mortem would be carried out to determine how the baby died.

He also said investigators were looking through birth and hospital records as well as consulting with the Missing Persons Unit to try to find the child's parents.

Last Sunday, a newborn baby was found crying at the bottom of an 8ft drain in Sydney by passing cyclists.

The baby's mother remains in custody after she was charged with attempted murder, with the case returning to court on 12 December.