A dog was found in a distressed state after being left in a car at Sunshine Plaza during the heat of the day yesterday.

Plaza police found the staffordshire bull terrier in a vehicle with South Australian registration plates.

The car was in the shade and there was water, but the animal was still in distress.

Leaving a pet in a car in hot conditions may amount to animal cruelty. They cool themselves by panting, and need cool fresh air and lots of water.

It is a timely reminder, as the weather heats up, that neither children nor animals should not be left in an unattended car.

Sunshine Coast police are receiving more requests for assistance where children and animals are accidentally locked in cars.

Children should never be left unattended anywhere. Kids are kids, and if you leave them in a car with the engine running and the air going, it can be a recipe for disaster.

Mates ‘hooning’ around Coolum

A 19-year-old man has allegedly been hooning around Coolum during the last couple of days in a green Holden Commodore Sedan.

The local teen had five mates on board when he was allegedly seen speeding and doing burnouts.

He has been issued with three notices to appear in court for hooning offences, as well as various vehicle defect notices.

It's not an accident!

Road “incidents” are rarely “accidents”, says Noel O'Mara, a senior ambulance officer who presents at the Coast’s Attitudinal Driving Workshops.

Like most ambulance officers, Noel is often asked how many traffic accidents he has attended during his career. He will tell you he has attended only one!

However, Noel has attended thousands of traffic crashes.

Rarely do investigators determine a traffic crash was an accident. Almost all come about as a consequence of a series of preventable events.

The next Attitudinal Driving Workshop will be at 6pm on October 30. These two-hour workshops, conducted by Sunshine Coast Police in partnership with the Maroochydore RSL Sub Branch, may save your loved-one’s life.

They are sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Daily and Channel Seven.

Sunshine Coast Police Recruiting

The next event Sunshine Coast Police recruiting event will be in October (date to be announced) at Kawana Shopping Centre; and November 1, Recruiting Display, Sunshine Plaza, Maroochydore.