A dog owner has praised firefighters after they helped release her Romanian rescue dog from her car.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) have been thanked by dog owner Dawn Mordey after her pet got trapped in her car while visiting family in Gateshead.

Dawn, 53, a retired customer services team manager says she was totally beside herself as she didn’t know what to do next to help two-year-old Tilly.

“I fastened Tilly in her car seat as normal like I would at the start of any journey but unfortunately for us, I momentarily placed my keys in the central driving compartment and the door locked shut with our beloved dog still inside,” said Dawn.

She said: “I was genuinely panicking as it was a fairly hot day, and with Tilly being a rescue dog she can be at times a bit fearful and timid.”

As the incident unfolded on Tuesday, September 21st, Dawn rang Northumbria Police for help but they advised her to ring the Fire Service for assistance.

Fire Control staff at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) received her call and deployed firefighters from Blue Watch at Gateshead Community Fire Station.

With the hot weather still causing an issue the firefighters put a silver reflecting foil over the windscreen to keep Tilly cool before managing to jammy the car door open.

Reflecting on the drama, Dawn added: “At first when I saw the blue lights I felt really bad for calling out the fire service as I know how busy they are dealing with emergencies.

“But I also felt a great sense of relief as I knew Tilly’s ordeal would be over soon and she would be safe.

“Tilly was a little nervous about the whole drama but the guys who answered the call were fantastic with both of us. I was worried sick but the care shown by all of the team was second to none.

“The firefighters were like magicians as they managed to open the car door using specialist equipment. When I saw Tilly pounding out of the car door my emotion was one of absolute relief.

“It was the best feeling in the world. I couldn’t put it in to words how I felt. The crew made a real fuss over Tilly it was lovely to watch.

“Tilly and I can’t thank them enough. They [firefighters] are fabulous and fantastic people, and their speedy response to our incident was a credit to the Service.”

Tilly is quite a new addition to Dawn and Phil’s family as they rescued her from a Romanian kill shelter back in January of this year.

Martin Farrow, Station Manager at Gateshead Community Fire Station, has today praised the crews who acted professionally when attending the rescue.

He said: “Our firefighters have to train for every eventuality whether it be house fires, road traffic collisions or in this case animal rescues.

“We always have the health and wellbeing of the animals at the heart of the rescue, and at the same time we look to reassure the owners as they will be concerned for their pets.

“We would like to say well-done to our crew and to Fire Control who dealt with the incident, and we were pleased to see Tilly and Dawn safely reunited.”