Wiltshire police officer smashes window to save dog locked in hot car

Updated

A police officer smashed a car window to rescue a dog locked inside on a hot day, footage released by Wiltshire Police shows.

The video shows PC Martyn Powell, from Wiltshire South Community Policing Team, break the window with his baton and coax the dog out of the vehicle.

A concerned member of the public contacted the police after realising the dog had been left in the car for a number of hours with no water.

"We spoke to the owner, who was very remorseful and, as we had no other concerns about the dog, we agreed the best course of action was a community resolution in the form of a charity donation," said PC Powell.

He added that the temperature inside a car can more than double in an hour, even with the windows open, and asked that people consider the welfare of their pets when making plans.

"On this particular day it was 21 degrees Celsius meaning that the temperature in the vehicle was in excess of 40 degrees Celsius.

"Prolonged exposure to this temperature can be dangerous to people but more so to our pets."

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