A Northland mother had to call emergency services after her self-locking car proved too clever for its own good when it locked the woman's key and two small children in the car.
The fire service and police went to a property on State Highway 12 near Kaikohe about 8pm on Sunday, after the woman rang for help.
She had left her keys in the ignition of her car while unlocking the front door of her house. The car had then self-locked with the children, key and handbag containing the spare set of keys inside.
Kaikohe fire senior station officer Brendon Mayall said that when the crew arrived, the woman seemed relatively calm and both toddlers were asleep in their car seats.
"One of the children was asleep the whole time we were there," Mr Mayall said. "The other woke up and we tried to coax her to unlock the door but she couldn't. But they were fine, they were still happy."
