This is the heart-stopping moment a man steps out on the fifth-floor window ledge risking his own life to save a little girl who was stuck there.

The incident unfolded in a residential area in the city of Suqian, in Jiangsu, China, on the afternoon of March 13.

A young girl, about four or five years old, had been playing by the open window of her fifth-floor apartment before she climbed outside on the ledge.

Witness Zuo Hongjun said he saw the girl become trapped on the edge, pacing back and forth, too afraid to try and go back inside.

He said: 'Then she stood outside with one foot bare and wearing very little clothing, playing around. I was so scared at the time, I was nervous inside.'

The terrifying sight was captured on phone footage as more and more onlookers gathered, growing increasingly worried about the child's safety.

At that moment, 56-year-old army veteran Jiang Weihua happened to pass by and saw the girl was in danger of falling to her death.

He immediately ran from the first floor of the community to the fifth floor, and entered the outer wall from the corridor, slowly approaching the little girl.

Later in the video, Jiang could be seen carefully inching across the edge to reach the girl. He initially squatted down by the window as he appeared to be trying to convince her to slowly come towards him.

But the child was seemingly too afraid, and Jiang then got up and carefully guided her back while holding onto her arms.

Speaking later to local media, Jiang said: 'I felt that the child was about to fall, so I rushed over to rescue her without thinking too much.

'It's quite dangerous for the child to walk around there.

'So I climbed out of the window, that place is relatively narrow, I went alone, and at one point, the board was decayed, I stepped on it and almost fell.'

Zuo added: 'I saw him slowly moving along the wall, the man hugged the child, squatting by the window for a long time without being able to stand up.

'Later, he slowly opened their window and rescued the child.'

In the critical moment, Jiang Weihua grabbed the little girl and, after a moment's hesitation, finally rescued her.