Hotspots of lungworm have been revealed in Swindon after vets warned dogs are at risk from the deadly disease.

Dogs can be infected with the potentially fatal parasite when they eat common slugs and snails in their garden or on walks.

Pets can also pick up lungworm while rummaging through undergrowth, eating grass, drinking from puddles or outdoor water bowls.

They can also pick it up from their toys.

Five cases of lungworm have been reported in Swindon area and its outskirts.

This Is Wiltshire: My Pet&IMy Pet&I

The map shows three of the cases were reported in the Wroughton area of the borough, with one each in Purton and Shaw.

Dr Bryony Tolhurst, a behavioural ecologist at the University of Brighton, said: “The slime of slugs and snails can contain the infective lungworm parasite that can cause disease in dogs.

“With the unusually damp weather the UK has been experiencing this year, slugs and snails are more active, and lungworm larvae can survive for up to two weeks in their slime, potentially exposing dogs to the parasite.”

Vets are warning that the signs of lungworm are not always obvious, and puppies can be especially likely to eat slugs and snails, due to their inquisitive nature.