Grenfell Tower hero caught 4-year-old girl after mother threw her from 5th floor

A man who caught a girl thrown from a window during the Grenfell Tower fire has been called a "hero".

The man, known only as Pat, lives in a nearby low-rise building and caught the four-year-old after she was thrown by her mother.

She was thrown from the fifth floor of the tower as fire spread throughout the building and he caught her "like a rugby ball tucked in his chest".

The fate of the mother remains unknown as flames quickly engulfed the room where she was stood.

Speaking to The Sun, local resident Kadelia Woods, 20, said: "The mum had the little girl's head wrapped in a towel and was holding her out of the window and was screaming for help. The fire was raging like crazy. It was about 2am and the flat was filled with smoke.

"My neighbour Pat, who's in his 40s, was calling up to her shouting 'Drop her, don't worry I'll catch her'. The mum was screaming, 'No, no, I can't, I can't'.

"Pat kept reassuring her and then the girl just dropped. Everyone's hearts stopped as she fell. We were all fearing the worst.

"She had a pink dressing gown on and she was just screaming hysterically for her mum. The paramedics were trying to put an oxygen mask on her but she was just screaming and screaming. I don't think her mum survived. When I looked up again the whole floor was on fire."

Pat was injured as he helped rescue people caught up in the inferno. He was later treated at hospital.

A total of 17 people have been confirmed dead so far after the fire took hold of the tower on Wednesday morning.

The death toll is expected to rise as fire officials make their way through the building.