A holidaymaker who reported three dogs in a hot car at a Pembrokeshire tourist attraction has spoken out to say she was  'totally devastated' when she learnt they had later died.


As the Western Telegraph revealed, the trio of labradors tragically perished in the vehicle in the car park of Folly Farm. A 50-year-old man was arrested by police following the incident.


Visitor Denise O'Sullivan said she was 'disgusted' to read the story, as she had reported her worries to Folly Farm staff.


The dogs were 'panting heavily and very stressed', she wrote on the paper's website.


She added that she had 'wondered about these poor animals since and was totally devasted to read about their death' and felt that Folly Farm staff could have acted to save the dogs.


A spokesman for Folly Farm confirmed this week that a member of the public had reported their concern that the three dogs had been left in a car.


"A manager went to the car park, located the car and found the dogs not to be distressed or panting," he added. "There was a bowl of water and two windows were open."


He continued: "Our park covers 120 acres so it is not practical to operate a public address system and it is extremely difficult to locate a member of the public amongst the many thousands of visitors we had that day. Due to this, the manager decided to return to the car again a short while later to reassess the situation. At this time they observed, who they understood to be the owner of the car, walking their dogs.


"The owner subsequently confirmed to the authorities that he walked his dogs at around 4.30pm and they were in good health. We were alerted by the owner some time after 6pm asking for help as his dogs had sadly died.


"Animal welfare is at the heart of everything we do at Folly Farm, with a dedicated and experienced team of staff who have been deeply affected by this incident. We clearly state on our brochure, website and at the entrance that we do not accept dogs at the park and have RSPCA posters on all our reception tills reminding visitors that dogs can die in hot cars."


A police spokesman confirmed that the man who was arrested on suspicion of causing animal suffering/cruelty is still on bail pending further enquiries.