Firefighters from Essex, Southeast England, had to break into a car so they could rescue a dog that was left behind the owners in a parking lot of a supermarket during a heatwave.

Reports suggest that the windows of the car were all rolled up and the poor dog was suffering from heat exhaustion when the authorities came to rescue him.

Cockapoo, the dog left inside the car, was left inside a hot car that was parked in a parking lot of a supermarket in Saffron Walden, Essex.

The Saffron Fire Station shared images of the scene on their Facebook page, the fire department said, “The dog was in distress due to the intense heat within a parked car in direct sunlight with no open windows. Please always keep your pets welfare and safety in mind particularly during this hot spell. With the recent high profile incident in Saffron Walden, we are surprised the message is still not getting through when it comes to leaving children and pets in hot vehicles.”

The fire department is requesting pet owners to not leave their pets inside cars during the heatwave.

Reports suggest that the dog was left alone in the car “for more than one hour” when temperatures in the area were reaching 25 degrees.