By ANEEKA SIMONIS
Worst town in Victoria: heartless parents lock up children in cars…
PAKENHAM had the highest number of children locked in cars across the state, according to statistics released by Ambulance Victoria last month.
Between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014, 30 children under the age of 13 were reported as being locked in a car in Pakenham which was well above the state average.
A Pakenham mother of two kids, aged six and two, waited with a boy she said was locked in his father’s car for almost 40 minutes in Lakeside Square last week.
“It was shocking,” she said.
“When I parked, there was already a car next to me who was watching the kid. They were on the phone to police, but the father arrived back before the police did.
“When he came back, he had a slab of beer and carton of cigarettes.”
The alarming figures, up around 25 per cent from last year, prompted serious warnings from a Pakenham cop urging parents to take car over the hot summer months.
“I share the concern of Ambulance Victoria with children being left in vehicles or indeed, locked in vehicles. It can possibly lead to serious injury or the death of a child,” Senior Sergeant Trevor Teer said.
“I encourage all parents to prepare for their day and ensure they will not be leaving children in closed or locked vehicles, particularly on a hot day.”
Ambulance Victoria said they were disappointed by the 10 per cent state-wide increase of children being locked in cars over the 12-month period which was highest over the hot summer months.“Tragically, there have been cases of children dying in hot cars in Victoria in recent years,” group manager Brett Drummond said.
“Being left in a hot car can quickly become life threatening for babies and young children as they can’t regulate their body temperature like adults can.
“It doesn’t have to be a scorching hot day for the car to quickly heat up. Tests by Ambulance Victoria found that even on a 29-degree day the inside of a car can reach 44 degrees within 10 minutes and hit 60 degrees within 20 minutes.”
Paramedics responded to 1165 cases of children under the age of 13 locked in cars, with the majority of children being less than four years of age.
