22 GEELONG KIDS LOCKED IN HOT CARS:

Alarm over children left to bake in scorching temperatures

ALARMING figures reveal Geelong parents are continuing to leave children alone in locked hot cars.

Emergency services received calls to rescue kids from hot cars across Geelong once every four days last summer.

Data obtained from the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority shows 22 triple-zero calls were made in Geelong between December 2017 and February 2018.

Newtown and Lara were the main hot spots, recording three call-outs each.

Across the state, emergency services fielded 564 calls — about six a day — for kids locked in hot cars last summer.

Almost 200 calls were made in the month of January alone — the fourth hottest January on record.

As the mercury continues to soar around the state this week, authorities are again pleading for parents to heed their warnings.

The worst suburbs for the dangerous offending include Frankston, Pakenham and Preston.

But only a handful of those potentially fatal incidents resulted in an arrest.

Data obtained by News Corp reveals only 54 offences were recorded by Victoria Police in the year to September 2018 relating to children in cars.

Of those cases, 47 resulted in arrests or summons, three were let off with a warning and four were unsolved.

Earlier this month, the State Government slammed the negligent practice after at least five children were found trapped in cars on the hottest summer day in almost five years on January 4.

Acting Health Minister Martin Foley said parents were risking a “fatal outcome”.

“Just don’t do it, even for a moment — the consequences can be tragic,” Mr Foley said at the time.

“Kids can become extremely sick and die. It’s not on, it’s not worth it and it’s never OK.”

The temperature inside a vehicle can more than double within minutes in the heat, so anyone left inside can quickly experience extreme temperatures.

“Just don’t do it, even for a moment — the consequences can be tragic. Kids can become extremely sick and die. It’s not on, it’s not worth it and it’s never OK.” ACTING HEALTH MINISTER MARTIN FOLEY