Nail-biting moment hero neighbours save girl, 4, as she plunges from fifth-floor balcony… while ‘drunk mum was sleeping’

THIS is the nail-biting moment hero neighbours saved a four-year-old girl after she plunged from a fifth-floor balcony. Footage shows three quick-thinking men jumping over the garden fence after spotting the girl hanging from a balcony railing. Footage shows three men spotting a young girl hanging from a balcony Credit: Jam Press The trio rush to her aid, stretching out a blanket to break her fall Credit: Jam Press The life-saving trio stretched out a blanket just in time to save the youngster as she fell from the balcony. The drama unfolded in Łomża in north-eastern Poland on Sunday. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! One of the rescuers, Dariusz Płoński, said: “When I came out of the building, I heard people screaming. “I looked up and saw the child, who was almost naked and wearing only a shirt. “The girl was moving from one side of the railing to the other. “I shouted at her not to move, but she did not respond.” At the same time, neighbours tried to wake the child’s mother by banging on the door. But in a “matter of seconds” the youngster had slipped from the balcony. Most read in The Sun The men ‘barely had time to move into position’ before the tot fell Credit: Clipzilla The heroic trio manage to catch the baby in the blanket swiftly avoiding tragedy Credit: Jam Press Dariusz added: “We barely had time to move into position so she would fall onto the blanket.” The blanket broke the fall but the impact caused the tot to slip from the sheet onto the ground. A doctor was among neighbours who witnessed the terrifying ordeal and rushed to help the little girl. She was conscious and taken to hospital for further checks where doctors confirmed only minor bruises. Police spokeswoman Karolina Wojciekian said: “Thanks to their quick response, a tragedy was averted.” The child’s mother was asleep inside the flat when chaos struck. Tests later showed she was almost at the drink-drive limit, with a reported 70mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Poland has a much stricter drink-drive limit of 0.02% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) compared to the UK limit of 0.08%. The girl’s father was working abroad. Police said the mother could face charges of exposing a child to the risk of death or serious injury, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. The four-year-old had been alone on the balcony for around an hour before climbing the railing and moving to an adjoining one. The neighbours have been praised for their speedy reactions that averted disaster. Comment now