Speed testing the nation's snails

Researchers have been fitting snails with LEDs and coating them with UV paint to study and raise awareness of their behaviour.

Slugs and snails are thought to carry a parasite that can cause a deadly condition in dogs, who become infected by accidentally eating the gastropods.

Dr Dave Hodgson admitted his snails were "not that fast" but could move quickly enough to explore the length of an average UK garden overnight.

Speaking about the discovery that the gastropods use each others' slime trails to move faster and more easily, he said: "It's like slipstreaming on a very slow scale."