A MOTHER has told of her fears after her baby got trapped in her car.

Vicki Maddison was worried the freezing temperature would be too much for nine month old Mille, who was born with a heart problem that required surgery.

She had been strapped into the child chair on the back seat of her 26-year-old mother’s Toyota Yaris, which had parked on an industrial estate some distance from their house on Generation Place in Consett because of the heavy snow.

But when Ms Maddison shut the door the car’s central locking was activated and she noticed the keys were on the front seat inside.

She said: "It was a moment of absolute panic and Mille was really, really upset.

"I get really stressed when she gets worked up because I worry about her heart so it was awful."

She rang her mother, father and sister who raced to her aid and a passer by heard the commotion and asked two police officers who were in the area to help.

PC Steve Chinner and PC Lisa Watson took Ms Maddison’s mother to her house to get a spare house key, which enabled them to find the spare car keys from her home.

But they had to pass it to Ms Maddison father in his 4x4 after the officers got stuck in the snow.

Ms Maddison said: "It was such a relief to get Mille out. I just cried my eyes out."

She has thanked the police officers, who have also received praise from senior officers for their dedication.

Inspector Dave Turner said: "This is another example of the fine work our officers are doing under the current weather conditions.

"Its business as usual for us."