A dog left in a car as temperatures soared in Dorset was 'suffering a great deal', police said.

Luckily, police were able to track down the owner and free the dog before it was seriously injured.

It happened in the Purbeck area yesterday, and it has prompted a warning to owners to never leave dogs in hot cars as they could easily die.

A spokesman for the Purbeck team said: "Officers were called to a dog left in its owner's vehicle. Although the windows were slightly lowered and the dog had water the dog was suffering a great deal.

"Officers quickly deployed and luckily located the owner before the dog needed treatment.

"Dog owners please remember 22 degrees outside can be 47 degrees inside the car in an hour.

"Please don't leave your dogs in your cars in this weather."

Advice can be found at rspca.org.uk