DEFRA has given the lesser whirlpool ram's horn snail protected status and from October 1, it will be illegal for the creature to be killed, taken, injured, disturbed, owned or sold.

Its resting or breeding places must also be protected.

The lesser whirlpool is a tiny aquatic snail with a flattened spiral shell and it is rarely more than 5mm in diameter.

The snail has declined in recent years and the only places in the country where it can be spotted in the wild are Sussex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

This comes a year after Cardiff University carried out a study on Pevensey Levels and found some endangered snails, including the lesser whirlpool ram's horn, had an inability to spread between locations which affects their survival chances.

At the time, Professor Steve Ormerod, of Cardiff University's school of biosciences, described the findings as a 'critical breakthrough in snail conservation'.

Pevensey is not just home to the snail — the wetland site is one of only two areas in Britain where the rare fen raft spider can be found