Onlookers tried to help a toddler who fell from a Poplar block of flats, a neighbour has said.

The boy, said to be in a critical but stable condition, was taken to hospital after falling from the block in East India Dock Road yesterday evening (Monday, July 27).

Police, London Ambulance Service and an air ambulance attended the scene, with the road cordoned off between Chrisp Street and Newby Place, opposite All Saints DLR station. No arrests have been made.

One resident of the block, who would not give her name and had only been living there for a month, said: “I saw people outside with the child (after it happened).

“They were trying to help but they did not know what to do.”

A security guard at the building, who did not give his name, said he was “very upset” by what had happened.

He said the family, whom he did not know well, “are very nice people and it is just horrible”.

Concerns were also raised about the safety of the block’s windows.

Lydia Best, 50, who lives on the eighth floor, said: “I am very scared about the windows. They can open wide.

“I only ever open my windows a little bit, even when it is hot.

“You have to pull it to open them wide.”

Ranjit Naik , 43, a father of two, said the windows in the flats are “quite large” and “something I worry about”.

He said there are two settings - one which opens just a little bit and another that is big enough for someone to get through if there is a sofa or large piece of furniture in front of it.

He said he keeps the window keys in the locks so his children, aged four and nine, cannot get at them.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has dash cam footage should contact the Met on 101, quoting reference CAD 6419/27 July.