Firefighters have reminded parents not to leave their children in cars following a rescue in Dover this week.

Firefighters were called by a distressed mother on Tuesday to a Dover supermarket car park.

She had accidentally locked her keys and her two-year-old child in the vehicle.

Crew manager Adrian Hawkins, said: "Although the child was getting hot, he remained calm so it gave us time to get into the car without having to cause damage.

"On this occasion there was a positive outcome, and although we had a distressed but relieved mother and a slightly hot and sweaty child, we did manage to open the car in time. "It may not always be that way."

Since the beginning of the year, Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has attended more than fifty incidents where children have been locked in their parents car.

Every fire engine across the county is now set to include a special tool to enable them to open car doors with minimal damage.

Director of operations at KFRS, Sean Bone-Knell, said: "We attend at least two incidents a week where children have been left in unattended cars and our firefighters use their initiative to rescue the child as quickly as possible, which in some cases can result in damage to the vehicle.

'Our new kit will help avoid damage and be less stressful for those involved.' - Alexa Kersting-Woods, road safety manager

"Our new kit will help avoid damage and be less stressful for those involved. However we would always recommend that parents avoid leaving their children alone in cars."

Alexa Kersting-Woods, road safety and safeguarding manager at KFRS said: "We would always urge parents with young children to consider issues such as:

• What if something were to happen to you while they were in the shop which would leave them vulnerable.
• They could wriggle free and open a door into oncoming traffic or even release the handbrake.
• More severe risks could be your car being struck by another vehicle
• Or on very warm days, it doesn’t take long before a youngster might over heat, especially with babies as they cannot regulate their temperature like adults.

She said: "We realise that life is busy and can be stressful, but the bottom line is parents really need to ask themselves: is that pint of milk worth the risk if you need to leave your child alone?"