Dad shields his daughter, 4, from fire after becoming trapped by anti-burglar ba

A dad who shielded his daughter and wife from a raging fire in their flat has been rushed to hospital with horrific burns.

The blaze broke out in an apartment block while the family was taking an afternoon nap in Guangzhou, China, on June 19.

Footage showed flames spewing out their sitting-room window, with the parents seen trapped inside the metal anti-burglar.

Emergency services battled to save the terrified family and could be seen spraying them with water in an attempt to quell the flames.

They were eventually rushed to hospital, where the dad remains in a stable condition after sustaining severe burns on 50 per cent of his body.

There is widespread muscle death on his back and he is unable to move his upper limbs.

His four-year-old daughter survived the accident with minor burns to her head.

Firefighters have since revealed the family were just inches away from a fire escape they could not access.

They had tried to escape out the fire exit, but it was blocked by and air conditioning unit and the door had been padlocked.

Police are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, as well as who approved of the fire exit being blocked off.

Neighbours living in the block of flats revealed the girl is the youngest of four children in the family.

The other three were not home at the time of the fire.