DISTRAUGHT cop Ian Craven was last night recovering in hospital after an apparent suicide bid following the death of two of his dogs.

The animals died after he left them locked in his car during a heatwave – colleagues said the shame drove him to despair.

The dad of three is one of the most experienced police dog handlers in the country.

And he was devastated as he faced his worst nightmare.

Sgt Craven left the dogs locked in his private car as he attended a meeting. It was an hour later that the alarm was raised by a kennel maid at the police dog training centre in Keston, Kent – as temperatures soared to 32C.

Horrified staff smashed the car's windows to reach the dogs – a German shepherd pup, Tilly, and Belgian malinois called Chay – and doused them with water. But it was too late to save them.

Assistant Tina Dale, 54, who joined the failed rescue bid said it was "the worst day of my life".

She added: "The suffering those dogs went through is too unbearable to think about.

"I'm in bits, we tried so hard but it was too long, the damage had been done." Another worker at the centre said: "It was a horrible way to die.

"The dogs literally boiled to death in the car. Everyone is terribly upset. The poor things didn't stand a chance."

An internal investigation was being held into the incident on Sunday – and it is believed Sgt Craven may yet face a possible criminal prosecution. Last night it emerged that he was previously disciplined over the death of a spaniel at the Met police training centre in July, 2004, but he was later promoted to the rank of sergeant.

In a similar incident last year a Nottinghamshire police officer was prosecuted after two German shepherds died in his sweltering car. PC Mark Johnson, 40, was given a six-month conditional discharge and fined £2,500.

In Bath yesterday, police broke into vehicles to save the lives of two dogs as parts of the UK recorded their hottest day for five years. Warmest was Gravesend in Kent at 32.8C – hotter than New Delhi, Honolulu and Los Angeles.

In Newhaven, East Sussex, a Co-op funeral store almost burnt down when the sun reflected off a window.

The scorching light acted like a prism and set fire to flowers.

But the mini-heatwave threatened to end with a bang for many areas last night as thunderstorms signalled a change to cooler weather.

Forecasters said temperatures will return to normal today with most places struggling to top 20C – and even the possibility of giant hailstones in places.

The Met Office has also issued a warning of flash-floods and up to 50mm of overnight rain in the east.