Police are warning dog owners not to leave their pets in vehicles on hot days after Brutus had to be rescued in Wisbech.

PCSOs were able to get the dog out of the car safely after being left inside for over an hour without water.

“The incident was called into us by CCTV operators at the Horsefair Shopping Centre in Wisbech who had received concerns from shoppers that a dog had been left in a car in the car park and appeared distressed,” said a police spokesman.

“PCSOs Lisa Mann and Lorraine Foster-Bentham attended and an announcement was put out on the tannoy for the owners to go back to their car.

“They got no response, so the officers made the decision to force open the door, which had the window open ajar, and rescue the young dog, Brutus.

“No damage was caused to the car, and Brutus was taken to a nearby vets to be checked over.

“Other than being a bit distressed because of the heat, he was okay.

“The vet scanned him and his owner’s details were pulled off from his microchip. They were called and met the officers at the vets.

“The owners were given words of advice before leaving with Brutus.”

“Please, please do not leave your dog in a vehicle on hot days; even with the windows open and parked in the shade a dog can still overheat,” police posted on social media.

After the news spread to Facebook, one person wrote: “I can not believe people still leave there dogs in cars in this weather.

“I went to get back in my car after I’d left it out in the sun for three hours - it was so hot I couldn’t even sit on the seat, so why would you leave a dog in it?”