The man, in his thirties, climbed onto his window ledge and under the balustrade, threatening to jump, late on Sunday morning.

But by time he had reached the point of no return, he had changed his mind and called for help.

“He stayed hanging by the railing of the window and started calling for help,” said Pascal Iselin, deputy chief officer of Coucelles, to daily paper Le Parisien.

“In the end a neighbour came out of the building, but the man was exhausted and fell on top of her, right on her head.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Both the man and his neighbour, a 57-year-old woman, were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

The woman said she feared for her life, and has been suffering back pain since the incident.

The man, who escaped with just a minor injury to his forehead, has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital.