A PENSIONER was nearly baked alive in a car on Saturday afternoon as her husband went shopping in Asda.

With temperatures well into the 90s and the car exposed to the searing sun, the woman, who is believed to suffer from Alzheimer's Disease, was unable to open any of the locked windows or doors.

Staff at the Pilsworth store desperately tried to alert the lady's husband on the tannoy system but they were forced to call the emergency services.

Fire fighters smashed a side window to reach the woman, who is in her 70s, while ambulance crews gave her first-aid.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: "The woman was in a very bad way. She was wearing a cardigan and the temperature in the car was baking.

"Our priority was to bring down the lady's temperature which was difficult under the circumstances. She was very dehydrated."

The woman was taken to Fairfield General Hospital for emergency re-hydration and was allowed home on Sunday. It is believed the woman and her husband are from Ireland and were on holiday in the area.