A man in China is being hailed as a hero after he rescued a toddler who was dangling off the side of the building, using only a mop.

Wang Baocheng says he heard the cries of a little girl who had fallen outside of a fourth floor window in Weifang city, eastern China while he walking through the neighborhood. He also noticed that her head was stuck in a burglar grill.

"I heard her calling for help and quickly ran over," he told CCTV. "I saw that the girl's head was stuck and it was holding her up."

The child, who had been left home alone, managed to crawl out the window. However, her head got stuck in the bars so she did not fall.

The 42-year-old man ran upstairs and climbed out of a nearby window to try to save the tot. However, Baocheng could not reach the child, so he used a mop to help support her.

"When I got upstairs I grabbed onto the window and used a mop to support her," he told the state-controlled news agency.

About 10 minutes later, the unnamed child's parents came home and brought the girl to safety. Fortunately, she suffered no major injuries.

"It the rescue didn't come in time, an accident could have happened anytime once the child runs out of strength," he told People's Daily Online.

Now Wang is being honored for his heroic act by neighbours and millions of Chinese web users.

"I think his brave and courageous actions are worthy of praise," a resident of the building told CCTV.

"Because of this, the residents in our flats call Wang Baocheng the 'lifting brother' and have been praising his behaviour," said another neighbour.

The toddler's father said he was out running errands at the time of the incident and is thankful that Wang saved his daughter.

"I'm very grateful to Wang Baocheng and other kind-hearted people in our complex. I thank them for acting bravely for a just cause," he said.