Holsworthy is Devon's dog capital

Average home has 2.32 pooches

Holsworthy is the canine capital of Devon, with households in the town and the area around it having an average of 2.32 dogs each, almost five times the usual number,

New research by the government reveals just how deep love for four-legged friends is across the county.

The Animal and Plant Health Authority, part of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, carried out the research earlier this year.

Part of its remit is to gather data which will shape future government policy.

To come up with the numbers it used estimates and information from vets, creating a ‘modelled dataset’ which can contain some anomalies.

Dog trainer and canine behaviourist Cheryl Walker, who is online as The Dog Walking Coach, researched some of the more unusual figures, such as a postcode in Edinburgh recording almost six dogs per household.

It turned out that the postcode included a well-known veterinary college and a hospital for small animals. Rural areas which scored highly also have breeders, farms and hunt kennels, which all have large numbers of dogs.

Low scoring areas often turn out to be industrial or commercial areas.

Many areas in Devon have more than the national average of 0.5 dogs per household, meaning that if you knock on any two doors in Devon, one of the homes is likely to have a dog in it.

As well as Holsworthy, other doggie hotspots are Lynton (EX35) with 2.23; South Molton (EX36) with 1.98; Barnstaple (EX31) with 1.97; Exminster (EX6) with 1.65; Okehampton (EX20) with 1.62; Ilfracombe (EX34) with 1.42; Totnes (TQ9) with 1.36 and Iddesleigh and Beaworthy (EX19 and EX21) with 1.31 each.

More urban areas have the lowest numbers. Among the lowest are the PL4 and PL5 postcodes in Plymouth which include North Prospect, Pennycross, Laira and Mutley, where there is just 0.18 of a dog per household.