A dog lover is devastated after she was forced to have her pet put down following an adder bite.

Nikki Blight’s rescue dog Roxy, 13, a terrier cross, suffered complications from the bite which left her body unable to fight off the venom.

Her other rescue dog, Alfie, was also bitten and had to be put into intensive care for four days at Coastway emergency vets in Brighton.

Ms Blight said: “It was a dreadful, heartbreaking decision to have to make, but I had to think of Roxy, not myself. She was suffering too much.”

Ms Blight was out walking three of her five dogs when two of them were bitten by the snake near South Hill Barn car park at Seaford Head.

Alfie, a cairn terrier cross from the RSPCA in Patcham, is now back at home, but it is unclear if he will make a full recovery.

Ms Blight said: “We want to be positive but he’s not there yet. The poor little man has been through so much.”

At the time it was not clear any of the dogs had been bitten.

It was only when Ms Blight took the dogs home that she realised Alfie was acting unusually.

His face had become swollen and he was yelping when touched.

She rushed him to the vets and it was not until she got back home she realised Roxy had also been bitten.

Ms Blight warned others to be on the look-out for adders, added: “People often think adders will only be found in bushy areas but this one was right on the path.

“People should be aware of adders, and not just dog-walkers, parents with young children too.”

She thanked the staff at Coastway for being “fantastic” and “really trying hard to make poor Alfie better”.

Vet bills have cost her around £1,500 but may go up to £2,000, with donations being collected at https://crowdfunding.just giving.com/nikki-blight.