Michael Haye, 39, of Fraser Road, Walthamstow, confessed to leaving his dog, Shay, in the car park when temperatures reached 38 degrees Celsius as he slept at a Premier Inn hotel in South Mimms.

The alarm was raised by a passerby who observed the Rottweiler in the car in the middle of the day on Monday 18 July last year – a day when the Met Office issued its first high Red heat warning.

A member of the public tested the unlocked car door handle and was able to deliver water to the animal.

Shay was found distraught and foaming at the mouth in what police described as a “scorching” automobile.

They sprayed him in water and drove him to the Royal Veterinary College while turning on the air conditioning.

The cat had a temperature of 42 degrees Celsius and was in danger of dying, but he later recovered and is being re-homed.

Haye, the dog’s owner, was discovered in the hotel, where he had apparently fallen asleep.

During inquiry, Haye stated that he had left some water for the dog, however this consisted of a bottle of water and a dog bowl that was found bone dry and too hot to touch.

On the date of the incident, we were experiencing extremely hot weather, and the Met Office had even issued a warning,” Detective Sergeant Mikey Logue explained. It was roughly 38 degrees Celsius outside.

“The poor dog was so weak that he couldn’t walk and had to be lifted out of the car and into a police vehicle.”

Haye was barred from owning a dog for ten years by St Albans Magistrates and sentenced to pay £6504.77 in kennel and vet charges.

He was also issued a community order requiring him to perform 100 hours of unpaid labour over the next twelve months.

According to Hertfordshire Police, the incident serves as a caution to the public not to leave dogs in hot cars.