An American woman from Denver, Colorado has been hailed a hero after catching a baby which had fallen from the third floor balcony of an apartment.

Police said that Mary Bussey and her son Brandon, were on their way to attend a junior football game in Denver, Colorado when the cries of a baby caught their attention.

Bussey and her son were shocked when they looked up and saw an eight-month-old baby dangling off a balcony, with only her tiny fist clinging to the balcony's railing.

According to the Rocky Mountain News, the little girl hung on just long enough for Bussey to position herself below so when the baby fell it landed in her arms.

She told reporters, "I just got right underneath her. Then, boom! She landed right in my arms. It's amazing! A minute earlier or later and we would have missed her."

Denver Chief of Police Gerry Whitman lauded the Busseys as heroes and praised them for their quick thinking.

Authorities discovered that the baby's 17-year-old mother had asked her brothers, aged 13 and 10, to look after her child so she could go to work.

After the incident, the child was taken into custody by social services. She was later returned to her mother, but under close watch.