An Albanian convict on the run for the last four years was arrested by police near Thessaloniki yesterday, following a high-speed road chase and after he had drawn a gun on officers while his child was in the car.

The unnamed man was chased by officers after he failed to stop at a routine check while driving a car with two adults and his 2-year-old son as passengers. When police stopped him in Menemeni, northwest of the city, the 28-year-old pulled out a loaded gun.

Officers managed to convince him to lower the weapon and moved in to arrest the convict, who had been found guilty of murder in his home country. He had been sentenced to 12 years in jail in Albania but escaped in 2001. It is thought that since then he has been living in Greece with a woman with whom he had the child. One of the adult passengers in the car was also arrested but the other escaped.