Five children a day are being rescued from parked cars in NSW, prompting a warning about the dangers of locking kids in cars during summer heat.
Figures from motoring group NRMA show 1,890 children were rescued from shut cars in 2007-08, while 1,878 were rescued in 2006-07.
As a heatwave hit most of NSW on Tuesday, the state government reminded parents and carers that temperatures in shut cars can be 30 to 40 degrees hotter than outside.
"Sydney's hot climate can quickly turn cars into baking ovens," Acting Community Services Minister David Borger said in a statement.
"Heat in cars can kill children three times more quickly than it would adults."
He said leaving a child unattended in a locked car was illegal and carried a fine of up to $22,000.
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