A woman has survived a 60ft fall from the balcony of a John Lewis store after a bed miraculously broke her fall.

Shoppers watched in horror as the 60-year-old plunged two storeys to the basement of the shop in Cheadle, Manchester.

She only suffered minor injuries to her hip and spine after landing on a display bed, it was reported.

Police and emergency services rushed to the store on Wilmslow Road at around before 4pm after several people called 999 to report she had fallen from the upper levels.

She fell over the glass balcony near the shop’s escalators, the Manchester Evening News reported.

Witnesses told of hearing screams after she fell. The shop was closed by bosses for the remaining four hours as police began their investigation.

CCTV footage has been handed to officers, who were seen talking to managers behind closed doors today.

Staff at the department store are understood to have been offered support by John Lewis bosses after a handful witnessed the harrowing incident.

Several ambulances, a helicopter and three hazard response teams, were scrambled to the scene.

An ambulance took the injured woman to Wythenshawe Hospital where she remains for treatment, although she is said to be in a stable condition.

A spokeswoman for John Lewis said: ‘We are glad that the customer’s injuries are not thought to be serious, and wish her all the best for her recovery.’

Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact officers on 101.