Kids in hot car charges possible

Police are still considering whether to prosecute a Hamilton grandfather who left two preschoolers in a locked car in the midday heat.

The 59-year-old man is being investigated ‘‘with the view of possible prosecution’’, Waikato police Senior Sergeant Simon Cherry said yesterday.

The grandfather parked at The Base shopping centre in Te Rapa to buy takeaways at the Te Awa food court at lunchtime on Sunday.

He left the two boys, aged two and four, in the locked car for an estimated 20 minutes. The windows were partially rolled down and bystanders were able to rescue the preschoolers.

The grandfather also left two 11-year-olds and a 10-year-old unsupervised at a pool complex 10 minutes away.

Passers-by spotted the preschoolers alone in the car around 1pm and became concerned.

MetService reported the temperature in Hamilton at 1pm on Sunday was 29 degrees Celsius.

Both children appeared to be ‘‘hot and sweating’’, Waikato police Senior Sergeant Charles Burgess said on Sunday.

‘‘He left a couple of windows down and members of the public managed to get into the car and open the door.’’

About that time, the grandfather returned.

‘‘He wasn’t very happy the public had intervened.’’

The bystanders cooled the children down with wet towels and ice before ambulance staff arrived and found no further medical attention was required.

Burgess urged people to be vigilant as the country experiences record-breaking temperatures.

Plunket national adviser of child safety Sue Campbell has said that there is no minimum amount of time that is safe to leave a child of any age in a car.

Research shows that small children heat up three to five times faster than adults, she said.