POLICE say they have received no reports of dogs being deliberately poisoned in the Wee County, following a widely circulated social media rumour.

A Facebook post shared more than 1,500 times last week warned: "Someone has been leaving tennis balls laced with rat poison in the war memorial, Tullibody park and West End Park to poison dogs."

It also claimed that one dog had died "within minutes" of playing with one of the balls in Tullibody Park.

However, after enquiries were made by the Advertiser, Police Scotland issued a statement saying they were aware of the alleged poisonings, but added: "We can confirm that police have not received any reports of this.

"We have also not received any reports of dogs dying in the area in sudden or unexplained circumstances."

The Scottish SPCA also stated that they had no records of poisoning incidents being reported within the FK10 area throughout March.

Anyone who does have information about individuals harming, or attempting to harm, animals should call police on 101 or the SSPCA on 03000 999 999.