'Angel from heaven' - UK woman catches girl in 4-storey fall

Helen Beard, 44, was relaxing by the pool of the Econo Lodge Hotel in the resort on Wednesday night when she saw 16-month-old Jah-Nea Myles dangling through the railing of the balcony above her.

She immediately ran to the child's aid and managed to break her fall after she plunged from the balcony, striking the railing of another balcony below as she fell.

Mrs Beard, who is holidaying in Orlando with her husband Philip and son Ben, managed to catch the toddler in her arms, before the child slipped from her hold and hit the ground.

Jah-Nea, however, survived her fall without a scratch. A spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office described her escape as a miracle.

The girl's mother, Helena Myles, 20, said: "She's perfectly fine. Not a scratch on her body.

"I'm thanking the Lord above right now for saving my child's life. I'm also thanking that lady because she was an angel sent from heaven."

However a "slightly embarrassed" Mrs Beard, from Worksop in Nottinghamshire, yesterday insisted that she had simply been in the right place at the right time.

She said: "The little girl didn't cry before or after the fall and I was just relieved to catch her. To be honest I am slightly overwhelmed. I am here to enjoy my holiday and I am glad to have been able to help."

She added: "Everyone was very emotional after I caught the toddler."

Ms Myles and her daughter, who live in Longwood near Orlando, were staying at the Econo Lodge in adjoining rooms with friends from North Carolina. Ms Myles said she had left her daughter in the care of her friends who had not noticed that Jah-Nea had slipped out of the room.

She said: "I'm not upset with anyone. I've had it out with my friends. But other than that, I'm thanking God right now that my child's here."

Carrie Hoeppner, a spokeswoman for Florida's Department of Children and Families, said they had launched an "open investigation" into the incident.

She said: "That is understandable given the severity and the potential for harm to the child and the fact that she fell four storeys."

Ms Hoeppner added: "I spoke to Helen this morning, this child's guardian angel. She had already been phoned by a number of friends back home who had seen the story.

"It just goes to show heroes are just normal people who are capable of doing extraordinary things."