Hero off-duty doctor rushed to help after pregnant mum Emma Atkinson fell to death from tower block

A local doctor rushed over to provide vital first aid to the heavily pregnant mum straight after she fell from the 17th floor of the high rise apartment building in Leeds

An off-duty doctor rushed over to help a heavily pregnant woman who fell to her death from the 17th floor of a tower block – as her newborn baby continues to fight for her life.

Mum-of-five Emma Atkinson’s baby Posie was delivered in hospital following the horror fall from Shakespeare Towers in Leeds on Tuesday morning, and remains in critical condition. West Yorkshire police said Emma "fell from a height" and died at the scene as result of her injuries.

Israel Larbi, 37, who lives next door to the flat Emma fell from says his wife Nana, 33, a doctor at Leeds General Infirmary, rushed over to provide vital first aid to the mum. He said: "She's a doctor. She was at home when it happened. She heard a noise on the corridor - a lot of shouting. She looked through the doorhole and saw the man who lives next door.

"He was pressing the lift. She opened the door and he told her that his daughter had fallen. So she went in the lift to join him downstairs. She went down to assist with the CPR with the medics. She's not taken it too well. The whole thing has been traumatising for her. She called me today to say she needed to come home from work." Nana, who said the incident left her shaken, added: "I just did what I could".

Another resident, Dave Capper, 66, who lived in the tower block for 26 years, said it was not the first death from a height at the building, reports The Sun. He said: "The windows do have safety features on them. You can only open them so far. But there's a little catch you can press in and they will open to halfway. You'd have to be a small person but you could get out. It's not very safe, really. It's not the first time someone has fallen from a window here about five or six years ago. I didn't know Emma personally but it is tragic."

In a final heartbreaking post on Facebook from a month ago, Emma shared an image of herself showing off her baby bump in front of a mirror, while a child can be seen hugging her legs. In the comments she wrote: "It's a girl, couldn't be happier."

Tributes have since poured in for the mum, nicknamed Emma Acko, with devastated loved ones describing her as a "beautiful soul". Commenting on Facebook, Sarah Whapham said: "A call I was not expecting this morning has left us in complete shock. Emma you had the biggest personality & the biggest heart. My beautiful cousin rest peacefully."

Another post from Megan Moore remembered her as a "beautiful lady". She wrote: "Rest in peace you beautiful lady. I cannot believe I'm actually writing this. Always a beautiful soul in and out...Thinking of your children at home and praying for your baby girl in hospital will be okay. Another woman posting on Facebook said: "Absolutely devastating news today, I can’t believe it, been sat crying all afternoon."

Her devastated daughter Demi also wrote a heartfelt tribute on social media, which read: "Rest in paradise mama. You was one of a kind. I miss you more than anything already, 2 perfect for this world. I love you forever. Love your girl."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "At 10.24am, police were contacted by the ambulance service who had been called to an incident where a woman had fallen from height at Shakespeare Towers, in Shakespeare Approach, Burmantofts. The woman died at the scene as result of her injuries. There were no suspicious circumstances and the Coroner’s Office has been informed. The woman, aged in her thirties, was in the late stage of pregnancy and her baby was delivered at hospital after the incident and is receiving critical care."