A NEW Zealand woman was left unconscious and her husband gasping for breath after being trapped in their new ‘keyless’ car for 13 hours.

The incident, reported by the Otago Daily Times at the weekend, reportedly happened in the South Island district of Alexandra in November.

Now, the victims — Mollieanne Smith, 65, and Brian Smith, 68, have decided to make their story public in an effort to warn others of the perils of attempting to drive modern cars unprepared.

The couple had just bought a new Mazda 3 hatchback, which had just been deposited in their garage after purchasing it from a new car dealer.

After getting back in the car about 7pm to go watch some local fireworks, they realised they had not brought the electronic transponder (which replaced traditional key systems) with them.

The doors automatically locked.

They’d left the new user’s manual in the house.

They couldn’t find a manual override.

Both became convinced they were trapped.

Stressed, the couple repeatedly sounded the horn in an effort to attract attention. But nobody noticed due to the noisy fireworks.

They tried to smash the window with a car jack. The glass was shatter-proof.

When the pair were found about 7.45 the next morning, both were in pretty bad shape. Paramedics told the couple they could have died if found only 30 minutes later.

Mrs Smith spent three days in hospital recovering.

Mr Smith is kicking himself: ‘’Once I found out how simple it was to unlock it I kicked myself that I did not find the way out ...”

After hearing similar stories to their own, the couple have decided to campaign for greater care in instructing older people “inexperienced” in new technology on how to operate new cars.

Originally published as Kiwi couple trapped in ‘keyless’ car