Cop swoops in after spotting injured sheep in heatwave

A NSW police officer has given an injured sheep a lift in his patrol car after noticing it was struggling in the intense heat.

The senior constable was executing a search warrant in Bourke yesterday when he spotted the sheep on the side of the road as an unrelenting heatwave roasted the nation.

Temperatures in the small town, in the state's north west, peaked at 46.2C and the officer decided he couldn't leave the helpless animal to "struggle".

"He put her in the front seat with him and drove around to a holding pen," NSW Police said alongside a picture of the pair on Instagram.