A cop has been hailed a hero for handcuffing himself to a man who was hanging by the ledge of a tall building after apparently considering jumping and then changing his mind.

Dramatic footage shows the moment Officer Li Yansong, together with his partner, saves the suicidal man atop an apartment building in Shiyan, in central China's Hubei Province.

But the man named Mr Chen was left hanging from the edge of the building where the officer, 25, found him and rushed to the rescue.

Mr Chen's worried family had earlier called the police to report he left the home in a bad mood on the early morning of August 23.

Hours later, Li and the other officer spotted Chen dangling by the ledge and attempted to persuade him to hold on.

In the footage, the man is seen hanging off the edge by his fingertips, seemingly ready to let go. But Li fearlessly steps in and grabs him by the hand and pleads with him not to make any rash decisions.

Seemingly worried he might fall or jump off, Li then asks his colleague for the handcuffs and cuffs both his and Chen's wrists together.

The young cop is then seen patting Chen's hand and comforts him saying: 'Don't try to get up, just hold my hand tightly. It's okay, don't be scared.'

The second officer also holds onto Chen's wrist to ensure both of them did not fall down. With the aid of firefighters who arrived five minutes later, they carefully moved Chen away from the ledge and out of danger.