Nantes

Young heroes climb building to save family in Nantes

Dramatic footage shows them scaling the side of the building and helping the parents escape their third-floor flat on Sunday afternoon.

Mattresses were brought to the foot of the building and the couple's six-month-old baby was thrown to safety.

She was taken to hospital in a critical condition but is said to be recovering.

One of the youths involved in the rescue, Tahmid, told the Ouest-France website that the decision to throw the infant from the balcony was "the last possible solution" as smoke billowed from the building in the Bottière district of Nantes.

Arson suspected in fire at Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral

Three fires were started at the site and an investigation into suspected arson is under way, Prosecutor Pierre Sennes said.

The blaze destroyed stained glass windows and the grand organ at the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, which dates from the 15th Century.

It comes a year after the devastating fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

But the local fire chief said the fire in Nantes had been contained and was "not a Notre-Dame scenario".