A Sidcup vet has hit out against dog owners who leave their pets trapped in cars parked in the sun by acting out the experience in video himself.

Dr Rory Cowlam of Park Vets in Maidstone Rd, sweated it out for more than 23 minutes as the temperature in his car rose from 34.4C to 49.8C, before he had to abandon the experiment.

The point of the test was to highlight the dangerous plight of heat stroke that dogs face in the summer’s sun.

Speaking to News Shopper the 23-year-old vet said: “It is still a massive issue in this country.

“As a large vets we see more than most.

“We still see a huge amount of heat strokes.

“We have been inundated with calls asking how they can keep their dogs cool.”

Dogs lack the normal sweat glands that we as humans have, limiting their ways to keep cool.

The primary way they lose heat is through through their paws.

Alongside colleague Emma Russell, the vet decided that a video was urgently needed to help raise awareness of what is a commonplace occurrence.

“I wanted to show what is not an acceptable amount of time, Dr Cowlam said, “I get half a dozen calls a day and there are 20 vets here.

“The car is the most problematic cause of heat stroke, there are others like walking them at high times of the day and even people run their dogs at one o’clock - big dogs with shaggy coats.

“Dogs do not have as many ways to sweat and they can’t sweat through their bodies.

“I wouldn’t be going out with that heat with a big coat so why should the dogs?”

The vet also confirmed that one dog has already died this summer from heat stroke.