Woman rewarded for catching child

A BRITISH woman who caught a toddler who fell from a hotel balcony has been showered with rewards.

Helen Beard, from Worksop in Nottinghamshire, was next to a swimming pool with her son and partner at a Florida hotel when she heard a scream and turned to see a one-year-old girl dangling from a fourth-storey balcony.

She positioned herself beneath the toddler just in time to catch her.

The 46-year-old data analyst said she did not consider herself a heroine.

"It feels a bit daunting to be here for something that was instinctive," said Beard. "It felt like it was something anyone would have done and I feel honoured to be recognised in this way."

Beard, who is on a 12-day holiday in Orlando with her partner and ten-year-old son, has been given the Orange County Sheriff Office's Medal of Merit.

She has also received awards from a local chamber of commerce and the state Department of Children and Family Services. The chamber gave the family passes and $100 gift certificates for Orlando's SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Walt Disney World theme parks.