A group of prisoners in Florida put their criminal skills to good use on Valentine’s Day – breaking into a car, to free a baby locked inside.

The prisoners, on work-release, were repairing parking meters in Pasco County, north of Tampa, when they spotted the family in distress.

The one-year-old child was trapped inside the car, with the keys inside. The family was unable to afford a locksmith and so, in the 56 degree Fahrenheit heat, the father was preparing to break the window.

That is when the prisoners, in their black and white uniforms, offered to help, and worked in a team to pry open the front door just enough for one inmate to use a coat hanger to push a button that unlocked the 4x4’s door.

In a video, which has gone viral, police are heard telling the father to "pop his head in the window" so "strange faces" would not scare the baby.

Another person in the video, filmed by the baby’s mother Shadow Lantry, can be heard commenting on the "hilarious situation," with police watching the crew unlock the car.

The whole endeavour took about two minutes, and ended with the group cheering.

Ms Lantry said the child was "just sitting there happy" throughout the ordeal.