A DOG owner, whose two-year-old retriever died “suddenly and in agony”, has warned animal lovers about the dangers of visiting Wimbleball Lake.

Jan Egginton, who lives in Worcestershire and was holidaying in West Somerset last month, told the WWN: “Cove was a lovely dog and I cry every day even though we have two other dogs.

“We were walking beside the lake when Cove spotted three dead fish. I think he licked one of them and he was paralysed within half an hour.

“We tried to give him CPR and to get him to a vets but he died just after we got him into the car.

“The autopsy revealed that Cove was a perfectly fit dog but did not reveal what he died of, but it did reveal what he didn’t die of.”

Jan added: “There should be warning signs at the lake and around it. We would not have gone within 40 miles of the lake if we had known this would happen. Dog owners should know about the dangers.

“We will never forget Cove. He was something special and had a gentle heart.

“We have contacted the South West Lakes Trust and the water board but they not responded in a positive manner. We feel dog owners should be warned and should not go through what we have gone through. Our hearts are broken forever.

“My objective now is to let people know the truth. We were on holiday and the lake was recommended to us. We did not see any signs alerting us to keep our dogs on a lead or the possibility of cyanobactia around the lake.

“The toxicology report from Cove’s stomach contents showed he did not die from many possible poisons but afterwards we were told the laboratory cannot test for blue green algae from stomach contents.

“We are led to believe there is not a test for blue algae from stomach contents in the UK.”