A desperate mum threw her child from a burning fourth-floor apartment to saviours below.

Dramatic footage shows the parent holding the toddler through an opening in the window of their burning home in Zhejiang province, China, on March 7.

She then let go of the child while the residents below created a makeshift safety net that caught the kid.

Onlookers gathered below the burning home, trying to help somehow free the trapped woman and her child inside.

Seemingly unable to reach the apartment, they quickly held out a large piece of cloth under the open window of the flat on fire. Despaired and determined to save her child, the woman threw it from the window.

Horrified gasps and shouts could be heard as the toddler plunged four floors down and hit electrical wires during the fall.

Despite the scare, it safely landed on the material held up by the crowd.

The woman also managed to escape while local authorities have not yet released any information regarding the cause of the blaze.