Vet bills vary up to £456 by postcode

ME-OW Costs differ greatly VET bills for identical treatments can vary by up to £456 across regions.

Owners pay an average £617.11 to remove an object swallowed by a cat or dog. But in Doncaster the bill is £463 against £919 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

And treating diabetes costs an average £444 in St Albans, Herts, while in Leeds it is under £100, according to figures from animalfriends.co.uk.

The postcode lottery on vet bills could be a headache for many owners as only a quarter of our 16.5 million pets are insured.

Megan Jerred, a nonpractising vet from Animal Friends, said: “Not only are vet fees increasing year on year, but they are generally unregulated. These figures show why pet insurance is so important.”