A delivery driver who has been in the job for less than two weeks has been hailed a hero after shimmying up a drainpipe to rescue a customer’s baby.

Daniyal Saeed, 21, of Ilford was sent to Leyton to pick up a parcel but when his customer went inside to get it, she locked herself out with her baby alone still inside.

Queenie Chen started to panic about her son Kyle Li after Daniyal called the fire brigade who told him it would take 15 minutes for them to get there.

It was then that Daniyal decided to take the matter into his own hands by scaling the building and squeezed through a tiny window.

Queenie said: “I was extremely panicky and so caught up in the moment I really didn’t know what to do. The whole incident probably lasted less than five minutes but to me it felt more like five years.

“Kyle had just about started to walk so all sorts of things were running through my mind about what he could get up to in the time I was locked out.”

Queenie started calling all her neighbours for help which was when Daniyal spotted a tiny bathroom window that was open.

Daniyal said: “She was so worried about her child as she had no keys and no way to get back in to the house.

“As she grew more distressed I didn’t really think about it. I’m not sure how I did it but I somehow managed to climb the wall and the pipe and shimmy through a small window.”

When he got into the flat he found a rather upset Kyle who was crying for his mum but was otherwise unharmed.

“They were both soon really happy again when I handed him back to her,” Daniyal said.

“I had a real hero’s welcome when I walked out of the front door with Kyle. It was lovely.

“I just did what anyone would do but it was great to see him returned to his mum safe and sound.”

Daniel O’Neill, depot manager at City Link, praised Daniyal for his quick-thinking at the scene.

“He didn’t even really tell any of us what had happened at the time so it came as a bit of a surprise when we received the call from Queenie to express her thanks,” Mr O’Neill added.