Chorley dog dies from deadly disease Alabama Rot after walks around Adlington and Rivington

The first symptoms of Alabama Rot are skin lesions, ulcers or sores on the legs, body, mouth or tongue.

It is the fourth case to be confirmed in Lancashire since 2014 and is leading vets to issue warnings to dog owners across the county.

The disease is still very rare, especially in Lancashire, where the Chorley case is only the fourth to have been confirmed in the past five years.

The other three Lancashire dogs to catch the disease lived in Heath Charnock (November 2017), Fulwood, Preston (January 2016) and Garstang (June 2014).

But another case reported in January has been confirmed just ten miles away in Lostock near Bolton.

In 2014, a dog from the Heath Charnock area was infected after walks had been taken in Lower Rivington, near the castle and reservoir, as well as around Anglezarke Reservoir.

The dog and its owner said they had also taken walks in the Adlington area, along the canal from the White Bear Marina to Red Rock near Standish,Wigan.

Another regular route was around King George Playing Fields in Adlington and along a circular route from Factory Lane to Yew Tree Inn, along The Street, Long Lane and back to Factory Lane.

Alabama Rot will cause a dog to lick at the sores and will, within days, experience symptoms of acute kidney injury (vomiting, reduced hunger or unusual tiredness).

But Lancashire's record of Alabama Rot compares favourably with other parts of the North West where the disease has struck.

Wigan had four cases of the disease confirmed in a two-week period between March and April 2014 and seven cases have been confirmed in Bolton since 2014.

The latest case in Chorley is one of four new cases confirmed in total across the UK, with dogs in Huddersfield (West Yorkshire), Chapel-en-le-Frith (Derbyshire) and St Austell (Cornwall) also contracting the deadly disease.

The highest number of cases have been seen in West Sussex, Dorset, southern Hampshire, Greater Manchester and Monmouthshire.

In total, the UK has now seen 181 confirmed cases across 38 counties since 2012, with 52 cases in 2018 and 6 in 2019.

This disease is still very rare, so vets are advising dog owners to remain calm but vigilant, and to seek advice from their local vet if their dog develops unexplained skin lesions.