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A man from Kent has been hailed a "hero" after a video posted on TikTok showed him saving a lost baby from crawling towards a main road.
The viral clip captures the moment Michael Currid, from Canterbury, discovered the baby climbing up steps leading away from Dymchurch beach on Sunday.
The incident was posted on TikTok and viewed by millions of people
The youngster appears to have crawled away from their mum, across the sandy beach and up a flight of concrete steps heading in the direction of the A259 Dymchurch Road.
In a video named 'we found a baby!' - which has since been viewed more than 1.5 million times on video-sharing platform TikTok - Michael, 32, can be seen scooping up the tot.
A voiceover narration added to the clip, filmed by Michael's partner, Lex Hartop, 28, says: "We found a baby crawling towards a busy road. Nobody knew whose it was."
The video shows Michael carrying the child down to the beach and searching for their parents.
He can be seen speaking with a group of beach-goers, none of whom know where the baby's family is.
Another woman - believed to be the baby's mum - then appears, holding a phone to her ear and stretching out one arm for the child.
She appears not to acknowledge Michael as she takes the toddler from him, and then absent-mindedly kicks a ball as she walks away.
The voiceover says: "She wasn't even bothered. Disgusting."
Baffled, Michael returns up the steps to Lex, who asks: "Is she actually joking?"
Speaking to KentOnline today, former Chaucer Technology School pupil Michael explained that the baby had been "calling and reaching out to" the mum when he handed the child back.
"There’s been some criticism online about us leaving a baby with her, but we didn’t feel comfortable walking off with the child," he said. "We did what we thought was best."
Many social media users have since speculated about what could have happened had the baby not been found by Michael and Lex.
One said: "Well done to that man, if it wasn't for him that baby would of been killed on the main road, kidnapped or drowned." [sic]
Margate mum Emma Gilham also heaped praise on Michael, calling him an "amazing young man".
"As a mother myself I would like to say thank you to him for not just walking by and thinking that the toddler was being followed by adults," she wrote.
"I live in Margate so know how dangerous it could of been for the baby if she went in the sea or on the main road. The baby had a guardian on this day."
Another woman wrote: "Absolutely well done Michael Currid you're a hero thank God for people like you."
Other social media users have been left enraged by the mum's reaction.
One person said: “The way she doesn’t even thank the guy and continues on the phone, even kicks the ball."
Another added: “Do you know how long it would've taken that baby to crawl as well?"
Speaking after the incident, Lex, a graphic designer and former Archbishop's School pupil, said: "The baby must have crawled a long way and was either ignored or not noticed by anybody.
“The baby said 'mum' upon seeing their mother turn round from a distance.
"The mother said nothing as Michael gave her back.
“We were shocked by what happened, and wanted to share it with our friends and family.
"We didn't expect it to blow up as much as it has.”
