Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

This image shows the sight that greeted French cops called out to rescue a dog stuck inside an oven-like car on a hot day only to find that it was in fact a child’s cuddly toy.

The incident took place on Monday in the coastal town of Plerin in the Cotes-d’Armor department of Brittany in north-western France when cops were called out to rescue a dog from a hot car.

Instead they found a fluffy cuddly toy for children.

The cops made the most of the situation and posted the picture on their Twitter account along with a preventative message to warn people against leaving their pets in their cars as summer temperatures set in.

They followed up their first post with a second one showing a sad-looking dog next to the message: “Stop roasting us! If it is hot out, a half-open window is not enough.”

Netizens praised the police, with ‘animalgladiator’ saying: “Well done, cops!”

Others added that this applied to animals when people go on holiday too, while still others asked whether it was acceptable to leave one’s mother in law in hot cars.

‘Virginiedu01’ said: “Hello, I would also add: do not abandon your animals when you go on holiday, they who give us so much love. When you have an animal, you love it and find a way to keep it while on holiday.”

But ‘LetoffeE’ asked: “What about mother in laws?”

France is currently experiencing high temperatures with the weather forecast for today showing highs of 34 degrees Celsius hitting the country.

Plerin is known for its “Marche du Porc Breton” (‘Breton Pig Market’), where the price of pork is set for the whole country.