"It makes me really happy that they won't end up boiling in a pot," the 18-year-old says.

A group of surviving snails were rescued in the 1990s as part of an international conservation project.

City leaders claim the "agricultural use" of the office is a "tactic" to avoid paying business rates.

Royal Mail says it sometimes closes boxes due to wildlife infestations but hopes it can reopen soon.

The gastropod gallop will see up to 200 entrants vying for a "very juicy bunch of Romaine lettuce".

The giant African land snails have also come into Tavistock College to help students study nature.

The glutinous snail is being encouraged to breed at a new home created in Yorkshire.

The Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust says the scourge of gardeners are "nature's clean-up crew".