A four-year-old boy and his mother were injured by falling rubble when part of a wall collapsed in Church Street, in the centre of Epsom.

Another man received minor leg injuries.

Sandy Mills, a Bupa care worker, was driving along Church Street at the time, and helped the woman out of the rubble.

She said: "Some people had managed to get the boy out, but they had left the woman there. I had to get her out, because the whole thing might have come down on her.

"The boy was bleeding from the back of his head, so I had to put pressure on it. The woman was screaming for someone to help her son."

Epsom Guardian user Benedikt said: "Both the mother and child, and myself and my wife, were nearly killed today.

"Only a few seconds separated our walk past the building from the falling masonry which could have killed us."

Police, ambulance crews and firefighters all attended the scene at 12.50pm today (January 4) to reports of fallen masonry.

Ms Mills said: "It all seemed to happen in slow motion. If I had been a bit further forward, it might have come down on my car."

Speaking about her actions, she said: "In that situation you just want to help. It's not something I'll ever forget."

The pair were taken to St George's Hospital in Tooting, the boy with head injuries and his mother with injuries to her upper and lower arm, but a Secamb spokesman said the injuries are not believed to be life-changing.

Twitter user GFWilliams said: "I heard it, was a very loud bang. There were two people in the rubble as I looked down seconds after, they moved out of the rubble quickly as people assisted them.

"Emergency services arrived incredibly quickly."

Surrey Police said the road was closed between the junctions with Dulshott Green and Upper High Street while emergency services and council building inspectors carry out their work.

It is not clear at this stage what caused the falling rubble.

A Surrey Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “We received a call at around 12.50pm to Church Street, Epsom. Part of a building has collapsed, and three fire engines and an aerial ladder are currently on the scene.”

The road is likely to remain closed until Sunday, due to difficulty putting up scaffolding to secure the rest of the wall.