A NAKED two-year-old girl was found in a car boot after her mum was hiding her birth from her family for two years, a court heard.

Serena, the toddler, was discovered by a garage mechanic in France, and is said to have been malnourished and suffering from severe developmental issues.

Rosa Maria Da Cruz, the mother, allegedly hid the child while continuing to raise her other three children with her husband after being in denial about her birth.

Serena’s ordeal ended in 2013 after garage mechanics heard noises and scratching coming from the boot.

The 50-year-old who is originally from Portugal had allegedly asked the mechanics not it open the boot because it was full.

Mechanic Guillaume Iguacel and salesman Denis Latour told state broadcaster France-Info about how they discovered little Serena inside a car in Terrasson-Lavilledieu in South West France.

Iguacel said: “She was lying on trash bags, with faeces on it, there was a bottle, we did not even see through.

"The firefighters told us that if we had not opened the chest, she would be dead in half an hour."

Latour said: “I discovered this little girl in the bottom of the trunk, naked, next to a rotten bassinet, disgusting. I jumped back so much the smell was strong."

Latour added that mother “was smoking her cigarette, she looked relaxed, not frantic, nothing, calm, calm”.

Da Cruz appeared in court in the central city of Tulle in South West France and on charges of repeated violence against a minor, causing permanent disability.

She faces up to 20 years in prison.

Da Cruz’s husband said he didn’t want anymore children after their third one, which is why she hid the fourth baby, French media reports.

Serena, is said to be nearly seven years old, and is in special care.

She has what is believed to be irreversible developmental problems.