This is the dramatic moment a brave neighbour climbed onto the next-door balcony to help a little girl who had slipped and was hanging from the railings by her neck.

Shocking footage shows the child desperately trying not to fall with her head trapped in the gap beneath the balcony railing of the residential building in Chongqing, in south-western China, on October 16.

As the girl struggled to hold on, her next-door neighbour spotted the danger and immediately came to her aid.

In the video, he is seen risking his own life as he stepped out his window, then carefully moved over to the balcony below the one where the child was trapped while barefoot and without any safety gear.

But the railing where she was stuck was too far up for him to reach so he stood beneath her instead to support her legs while awaiting firefighters' help.

He, along with police officers who arrived shortly after, held her up for more than ten minutes. Police and other neighbours reportedly could not locate nor contact the girl's guardians so firefighters had to break down the door to her apartment.

In the video, rescuers can be seen finally reaching her balcony and carefully pulling her back inside through the gap.

It is unclear if she sustained any injuries but local media said the girl is doing fine and is under police care while they try to find whoever was in charge of her.