Boy who fell to his death from Metropolitan Hotel window on Blonk Street, Sheffield, believed to have been Afghan refugee whose family fled Taliban

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.”

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

The hotel is reported to have been used to accommodate Afghan refugees who had assisted the British authorities in their home country.

A fellow refugee staying at the hotel is reported to have said the family only arrived in the UK four days ago.

Alison Teal, a Green Party councillor and on the council executive, had recently described Sheffield as 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.”

Sheffield Council’s leader has already pledged that the authority would do all it can to help the boy’s family after the tragic incident at the high rise hotel block.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident and have appealed for witnesses.

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

Local journalism holds the powerful to account and gives people a voice. Please take out a digital subscription or buy a paper. Thank you. Nancy Fielder, editor