Two quick-thinking pharmacists praised the “sense of community” after crowds instinctively reacted to help a woman who fell from a shopping centre onto another woman.

Kunal Patel was in a chip shop with his wife near The Mall in Wood Green on at around 4.50pm on Wednesday afternoon (April 12) when he heard a “loud bang” that he thought could have been a gunshot.

His wife, who does not want to be named, dashed outside to find two injured women - one had landed on another after falling from a building.

Mr Patel said: “My wife was one of the first ones to go out and ascertain what was happening.

“She ran to check if they were ok, without knowing what the danger was. I think that was our NHS hat on straight away, putting others in front of our own wellbeing.”

Mr Patel immediately called emergency services and the couple, who work in a local Haringey GP Surgery, stood by the two women to comfort them.

According to the Metropolitan Police, the woman who fell remains in a critical condition, while the other woman is believed to have non life-threatening injuries.

Before ambulances arrived, Mrs Patel used her first aid training to check whether the women were conscious, but they did not respond.

Knowing it was best to not move them until crews arrived, they gently touched the women to comfort them and tried to reassure them by saying “you’re okay” and “you’re safe now”.

As a crowd started to build up, Mr Patel said other onlookers were amazing. He said one woman who rushed out of a hair appointment with foil still on her hair trying to call an ambulance.

Another woman also showed an “incredible act of care”, trying to comfort the two injured people.

“It was something minimal that can go a long way,” Mr Patel said.

He added: “Even though none of us could do anything medically, I thought it was quite nice that she kept talking to the ladies even though they’re unresponsive, if they could hear at least, they could hear her warming voice.”

Despite people crowding around to see what happened, Mr Patel said the shopping centre's security team and staff from local shops did a good job dispersing the crowd.

He said ambulances arrived after just five minutes, adding: “In a climate where the NHS is negatively talked about, today truly showed how the NHS workforce will always pull together in a time of emergency.”

The pharmacist said: “The way the public and emergency services today pulled together so quickly was truly heart touching in such a time of need.”