A three-year-old boy died in Leioa (Vizcaya) today after being left unwittingly in the car by his mother, who had meant to drop her son at nursery on the way to work but 'forgot' and left him in the parked car by mistake.

According to the Basque interior ministry, the woman went back to her car at about 2.15pm, after finishing her shift and found her son still in the car and showing no signs of life.

The woman alerted the emergency services immediately, but the doctor who came in the ambulance was unable to resuscitate the boy and certified him dead at the scene.

The boy's body is now in the hands of the Forensic Pathology Department, who will be responsible for establishing the exact cause of death.

The mother was arrested by the Ertzaintza, charged with involuntary manslaughter, but later released pending a court hearing.