Man smashes window with axe to rescue overheated dog in Berkshire
Video report by ITV News Meridian's Mel Bloor
A man from Berkshire, who smashed a car window with an axe to free an overheated dog, says he'd do the same again.
William Morris spotted the struggling animal at a car park in Newbury as temperatures outside soared to 34 degrees.
Shoppers at Newbury Retail Park had spotted the panting Yorkshire Terrier in the back of a VW Golf on Monday afternoon (10 August).
Bill says: "That dog would have died. It was one of the hottest days of the year. Inside my own vehicle when I returned to it it was 34/35 degrees, and this was a long haired Yorkshire terrier and it was suffering. Time was running out, I took the decision to break into the vehicle, I went to the back of my truck and got an axe and smashed the window."
Watch: William Morris smashes window with axe to free overheated dog
Bill, who is an estate manager hence why he had an axe in the back of his truck, has been hailed a hero since the rescue, which was filmed by Samantha Heaver.
A car alarm had gone off in the car park, so Samantha's husband went to check it wasn't theirs. On his return he told Samantha about a dog in someone else's car that was panting.
That was the moment Bill overheard the couple's conversation.
She says: "We waited 5 minutes for the owner to return, because we knew we'd been there at least half an hour, and we decided that the best option was to smash the window and rescue the dog."
The dog was taken to a vet to be checked over while the owner of the car was spoken to.
Bill hopes others will learn from this incident but says he'd do the same again if he had to.
He says: "I think anybody would do the same, animal lover or not, it's just something I took upon myself to do. Would I do it again? Yes I would."