With the weather heating up, authorities have raised serious concerns about children and pets being left in hot cars.

Despite repeated warnings over the years, there’s still an alarming number of cases of children and pets being locked in hot cars. In fact, over the last year, the NRMA has rescued 157 babies and toddlers, while the RACQ has had to rescue more than 1,000 people from locked, hot cars.

In just 5 minutes, the temperature inside a vehicle can be 20 to 30 degrees higher than the actual temperature, putting children at serious risk of heat stroke, and even death.

The vast majority of these cases, are accidental, like instances of parents loading the boot and leaving the car keys in the hand of the child.

RACQ spokesperson Clare Hunter tells John and Erin the best thing is to never hand the keys to a child.

But what if you see a child or pet locked inside a hot vehicle…what should you do?

Clare’s recommendation is to call the police or RACQ in QLD, and NRMA in NSW. She says it’s best to avoid smashing the window, because of the danger of the glass injuring the child.