A traffic policeman came to the rescue yesterday when he smashed the window of a car parked in the sun to release a baby locked inside.

Police Constable Michael Farrugia was patrolling near St Publius Church in Floriana at about 10am when he noticed two women who were “in a state of panic”, according to a police statement.

The mother and grandmother of an 18-month old girl were in utter distress after they mistakenly left the keys inside the car and shut the door, locking the vehicle with the baby strapped inside her car seat behind the passenger.

The officer did not think twice. He grabbed the hammer

A crowd of people had gathered around the car and one man, who had a hammer, tried to break open a window but failed. Meanwhile, the girl was crying inside the car.

“The officer did not think twice. He grabbed the hammer and asked the grandmother to attract the girl’s attention from the passenger’s window,” the police said.

“This way the child would look in the opposite direction and glass would not fly in her face. As the child turned to look at her grandmother, the constable broke the back window on the driver’s side and the child was brought out of the car.”