Arnie the cocker spaniel ended up needing a trip to the vet after helping himself to a dinner consisting of knickers and thongs!

His red-faced owner Miriam Walters, from Sussex, was told that her beloved Arnie was lucky not to have suffered serious damage after he swallowed her thong and other clothing. Mrs Walters admitted to feeling "incredibly embarrassed" when surgery revealed the contents of his stomach.

She noticed her knickers were missing when she went to put her clothing in the laundry basket.

Veterinary surgeon Greg Clark said Arnie's intestines were becoming blocked. "If it had been two or three days down the line, it would have been a very different situation. He could have been very ill and the surgery could have been quite difficult to do."