A stuffed Minions toy has saved the life of a five-year-old girl in Colorado who tumbled three storeys from a bedroom window, reports the Denver Post.

The unnamed child escaped with only a broken arm after holding on to the toy, which cushioned her fall. The accident took place on the evening of 16 July at an apartment in North Murray Boulevard, Colorado Springs. The girl has now returned home from hospital.



“Fortunately, when the child fell out of the window, she continued holding on to a stuffed Minion teddy bear that is believed to have cushioned her fall,” a police spokesperson told the Post. “The child was transported to a hospital and treated for a broken arm and later released.”

Are McDonald's Minions toys teaching children the F-word? Read more

The rescue representatives a timely blast of positive PR for the Minions, whose reputation as harmless chatterboxes suffered somewhat earlier this month after upset American parents claimed themed toys available from McDonald’s to promote the new movie starring the diminutive yellow creatures were prone to swearing like troopers. YouTube footage appeared to show a “caveman” Minion asking its new owner “what the fuck?”

Angry parents said the toys were also prone to shouting “well, I’ll be damned” at random moments. A spokesperson for McDonald’s later said the Minions were speaking their own language, and categorically denied any foul language was being uttered.

The unintelligible sidekicks’ first big screen solo outing, titled simply Minions, opened at No 1 at the US and UK box offices earlier this month and has zoomed to $625m in just two weeks on global release.