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Delta, B.C. police said an officer had to break a window to free two children, aged three and five, who were left in an overheated vehicle parked at the Tsawwassen Mills shopping centre on Canada Day.

According to Delta police, passersby spotted the children in the vehicle just before 5 p.m., and told the five-year-old to try and open the vehicle door. After the child was unsuccessful, someone called police.

READ MORE: RCMP investigating after officer leaves his 4 young children alone in car

“When our officer arrived on scene, he discovered the children trapped in the hot vehicle sweating profusely, crying, and with bright red faces,” Delta police spokesperson Cris Leykauf said.

The three-year-old was strapped in a car seat in the full sun, police said.

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An officer then smashed the car window and “helped the children out of the vehicle and brought them into the police cruiser so they could be cooled off by air conditioning right away, and provided with water,” Leykauf said.

“He was very concerned with their condition, particularly the youngest child who had irregular breathing.”

The children’s father arrived around 10 minutes after the children were removed from the hot vehicle, police said.

Police will be recommending criminal charges to the Crown, and have advised the Ministry of Children and Family Development.