Forest Gate police officers rescued a five-year-old boy from a four-storey building’s roof on Wednesday morning.

They arrived at Grange Road to find Callum May shivering, in shock and trapped at 30ft.

After throwing mum Kerry-Anne Wheeler’s dressing gown over him, officers decided urgent action was needed.

PC James Aspland spoke to Callum to gain his trust, before attaching a rope to himself and climbing on to the roof.

PCs Daryl Jones and Terry Mole held the other end of the rope as their colleague crawled to the boy’s rescue before returning him to his mum.

Kerry-Anne said she was relieved to have him back safely.

“I nearly had a heart attack,” she said. “It was just a relief – an absolute relief – to have him back in my arms.”

“When I got back she was hurting me because she was squeezing me too hard,” Callum said.

He said he fell onto the roof.

“I climbed on my bunk bed and slipped,” he said. “When I was out there I felt brave but I was cold.”

He was home safe in time for his sixth birthday on Thursday.

“He had a great time when I actually allowed him to have his presents – he was in a lot of trouble,” Kerry-Anne said.

“I only got my presents at 11am when I was supposed to get them at 7.30am,” Callum said. “But I still had a good birthday.”

On Thursday, mum and son brought flowers, chocolates and birthday cake to the officers at Forest Gate Police Station to show their gratitude.

“I got to speak to one of them – Daryl Jones – and I made sure that Callum thanked him too,” Kerry-Anne said.

Inspector Joe Dyer from Newham Borough said the rescue showed bravery and dedication.

“PC Aspland risked his own life to bring the child to safety – he deemed it necessary to go above and beyond his duty,” he said. “This bravery highlights the dedication and lengths that police officers go to in order to protect vulnerable people within the community.”