Kids trapped inside cars have sparked 460 rescues in the past year, according to the AA.
Pesky pooches got locked in on almost 360 occasions and in one instance a lamb needed freed from a vehicle.
But it wasn’t just youngsters and animals getting in a jam.
Five adults also had to be helped out after their spouses accidentally shut them in.
AA spokesman Conor Faughnan described the panic in these situations.
He said: “For any parent, I think there are few things more worrying than when you accidentally lock one of your children in your car. But it can happen more easily than you think.
“Quite often these cases start with a parent innocently giving a baby or child the keys to play with while they pack some shopping into the boot.
“Next thing the parent knows they close the boot, the child presses a button on the fob and panic ensues.
“The good news is we are used to dealing with incidents like this and will always give priority to a case where a child or animal is locked in the car.
“While people locking their spouse in doesn’t happen that often, it is something our patrols still see.
“It is embarrassing for anyone but it has a funny side – unless it causes rows after we leave.”
AA Rescue attended to 2,038 cases of keys being locked inside a vehicle over the last 12 months, with many of these occurring between May and September. Mr Faughnan said: “Modern cars make it more difficult for the driver to lock the keys inside but it is still something we are seeing on a regular basis.
“On average we deal with cases of keys being locked into the car six times a day.
“Despite our reassurances, everyone who finds themselves in this situation feels like they’re the first person to have ever done it.
“Every time a member calls us to let us know they have locked their keys in you can almost hear in their voice they feel like they’ve taken over the role of the village idiot.
“However, the good news is we’re used to dealing with these cases and our experienced patrols are more than happy to help.”
