A devastated dad is facing a manslaughter charge after he forgot to drop his baby son off at daycare and left him to die in the car on a hot day.

The tragic incident took place in Sao Jose do Rio Preto in Sao Paulo state, south-eastern Brazil, on Wednesday, 7th December.

The unnamed father had been driving his one-year-old son to daycare, but as the tot had fallen asleep, he had forgotten to drop him off and had headed straight to work.

As he left his workplace that night, he got into his parked car and was horrified when he saw his little son motionless in the footwell.

He was so shocked and upset that he then lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a waste container, police reported.

Paramedics from the Mobile Emergency Care Service were called to the scene but were only able to confirm that the toddler had been dead for around three hours.

The deceased baby was taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for a post-mortem examination, while his father was booked for manslaughter.

Temperatures in Sao Jose do Rio Preto reached highs of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.