A five-year-old boy who fell to his death from a hotel window was an Afghan refugee whose family recently fled the Taliban, according to local reports.

South Yorkshire Police have appealed for information following the boy’s death in what was reported to be a fall from the ninth floor of Sheffield’s Metropolitan Hotel in Blonk Street at around 2.30pm on Wednesday.

A member of the city’s Afghan Community Association, named only as Zabi, said: “It is very sad.

“We are looking to go to see the family to help them.”

It's a really tragic story

The boy’s family are being supported by specially trained officers and no formal identification has taken place yet.

According to reports, the hotel has been used to accommodate Afghan refugees who had assisted the British authorities in their home country.

A fellow refugee staying at the hotel told YorkshireLive the boy had arrived in Sheffield four days ago, adding: “They came here to save their lives and now this has happened. It is so sad.”

Alison Teal, a Green Party councillor and on the council executive, was recently quoted as saying Sheffield was a city of sanctuary for refugees from the Taliban.

She said: “There is an ongoing police investigation and we are advised we cannot make any comments.

“It’s a really tragic story.”

Any witnesses, or anyone who has information, should call police on 101.