A Coventry man has been left with a £50,000 bill after his neighbours brought legal action to stop him digging the foundations for his new shed. The hole, which reached 2m deep, was threatening the stability of surrounding houses.

Snails, according to a study, save time and energy (and snot) by following other snails' mucus trails in order to get around.

By following an existing trail, a snail only has to make a fraction of the mucus it would need to produce in order to lay down a fresh trail of its own.