A father has been left paralysed after he dived into a creek to help save a stranger's child from drowning.

A Facebook appeal has been set up to help Michael Patterson, 43, whose family are struggling to meet the cost of his medical care as he has no health insurance.

Mr. Patterson's mother said her son broke his neck in three places and severed his spine after diving into shallow water to rescue Carlisa Jones' 4-year-old daughter.

Ms Jones told Fox Atlanta "In the water, all I saw was the top of her head, and I was just yelling, 'Grab her. Somebody grab her'."

She said Mr. Patterson did not hesitate to dive in and help save the girl, as his own 9-year-old son Cole looked on.

Amid the commotion of the young girl's rescue, witnesses said no-one noticed Mr. Patterson was in trouble until he had been floating face down in the water for around 3 minutes.

He is now fighting for his life in intensive care

Paralysed from the waist down

He was transported to Redmond Regional Medical Centre in Rome, Georgia, where he has been fighting for his life in intensive care. Doctors have confirmed he is paralysed from the waist down.

Ms. Jones said "He's a godsend basically. He was there. He was supposed to have been there." Mr. Patterson's mother Vicki Jones said "I have no doubt in my mind he would do it all over again."

Mr. Patterson had started a new job as a contractor - without medical insurance - 2 weeks before the incident, which happened near the Silver Comet Trail to the north west of Atlanta.

His family hopes to get him into Atlanta's Shepherd Centre for rehabilitation. They said their funds are limited because Mr. Patterson's father has cancer and his grandfather is bedridden.

The Facebook page 'Friends of Mike Patterson' has got over 3,000 likes since it was set up on June 10th.