A border guard who was returning home from chasing drug smugglers on Greece’s northern border yesterday saved a 2-year-old baby which fell from a balcony and landed in his arms in the town of Kastoria.

The 38-year-old policeman told Kathimerini he was returning from a night on duty when he noticed a crowd of people staring up at an apartment bloc where a baby boy was dangling from the bars of the balcony.

The 2-year-old lost his grip and plummeted toward the road. The border guard leapt from the pavement and managed to catch the baby before it hit the ground.

“I felt 10 years younger when he turned round and looked at me,” said the policeman who did not want to make his name public but gave his initials as S.G.

Authorities said the baby had escaped his grandmother’s notice while he was playing.