Snail farm in Liverpool office sparks tax avoidance probe

Each crate contains two snails, according to L’Escargotiere, another company operated by Mr Ball, also based in Ribchester.

Its website says the number of snails per crate is kept to a minimum to avoid “cannibalism, group sex and snail orgies”.

Mr Ball – the son of the late North West shoe shop owner and local personality Tommy Ball – told BBC News that 15 crates containing two snails each could “create 1000 snail eggs, in the right environment”.

L’Escargotiere says it sells the snails in 1kg bags – the weight of about 200 snails – for £14 a bag.

Other snail farmers around the UK told BBC News they could not see how so few snails could make for a viable trade.

“You need thousands of snails, otherwise there’s no business,” one said.

Another said snail farming generally involved “feeding and cleaning daily”.

A representative of Mr Ball told the BBC that there are “regular, routine care procedures” and that the snails are “replaced every three to four weeks”.