It’s time to see dog owners charged with animal cruelty for leaving dogs in cars during a heatwave A woman who left her dog inside a car during a record-breaking heatwave was given a stern telling off by police officers who smashed her window to rescue the animal. The incident comes as forecasters revealed today that Britain has now had as many 30°C days in 2026 as it did in the infamous year of 1976. The Met Office said temperatures reached 30.1°C in Hurn, Dorset, on Monday, marking the ninth consecutive day that somewhere in the UK has exceeded the 30°C mark. In a car park near Brent Cross shopping centre in north-west London, however, police were forced to smash the window of a Volvo to save a trapped dog. Concerned members of the public alerted authorities after spotting the dog panting inside the parked car at a Tesco Extra car park. Unable to find the owner, officers decided to smash the window as there was no time to wait. Footage shared online shows the dog being taken out of the car before the officer confronts the owner.