Firefighters reunited a youngster with their family this morning after a routine rescue following an incident all parents dread.

The one-year-old boy became locked inside a car with the keys inside - with no way of knowing how to unlock it.

Mum Sarah Lay, from Stowmarket, said the child was strapped in his car seat and was being put back into the car. When the door was closed, it automatically locked, with the keys on the seat, leaving the child on the inside and family outside.

Relatives stood helpless in the car park of the B&M store in Milton Road South in the town before calling Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

A fire crew from Stowmarket duly attended at 11.05am and within a few minutes had freed the child - and handed the youngster back to their grateful family.

Sarah said: "I have sent the fire service a message to thank them for their help."

She said the parents had been anxious during the incident, but the little boy was fine. "After he got out, he was waving to the fire engine, and they let him sit in the front."

Sarah added that the car is being looked at to find out why the door locked automatically, which it should not have done.