[attach id=266652 size="medium"]PC Michael Farrugia. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli[/attach]

When Police Constable Michael Farrugia went home after work, his eight-year-old son, who had seen the news, asked him if he would get a medal for saving a baby girl who was locked in a car.

“I smiled and told him I didn’t expect anything in return for doing my job,” the 38-year-old traffic officer said with an affectionate smile as he pictured the enthusiastic expression of his son, Luca.

Mr Farrugia was driving through St Publius Street, Floriana, on Monday morning when he saw a group of people huddled around a car.

“There were two women crying outside the car and, inside it, a little girl whose face had turned purple because she was crying so hard,” he said.

The car was parked in the sun and the women, who might have been the child’s mother and grandmother, were worried.

They had left the keys in the ignition and locked the car.

We do a lot but all people see are the traffic fines

A man in the area had a hammer and the constable used it to smash the one of the rear windows. He asked one of the women to distract the child, who was in a car seat in the back on the passenger’s side.

He then broke the window of the back door on the driver’s side.

“I pulled the girl out and she stopped crying. I dusted off some glass that ended up on her and gave her to one of the women. I went to get some water for them and a wet cloth to wipe the girl’s face,” he said.

When he saw the situation had calmed down, he drove away.

The constable believes he did nothing heroic but it was important for people to see that traffic police officers were not just about giving tickets.

“Whenever I see people requiring my help I don’t hesitate… we do a lot but all people see are the traffic fines” he said.

During the homily of a Mass making Police Day last Friday, Archbishop Paul Cremona said it was important that the good deeds of policemen came to light.

He gave the example of three police officers who escorted a pregnant woman, who was stuck in traffic, to hospital in time to deliver her baby a few weeks ago.

What to do if your child is locked in a car

Civil Protection Department director John Rizzo said this was very unlikely as modern cars have remote control locking.

However, parents might want to keep a spare key accessible, such as in a handbag, separate from a copy at home.

It is important not to label to which car the key belongs, in case it is lost.

A spare key could also be left with a trusted person, who would be able to bring it over in times of need.

In emergencies, the only way to open the car is to break a window.

One must ensure this is done safely, using a blunt object, and by selecting the window furthest from the child.