Once deemed a forkful too far for most Brits – snails are back in demand.

Since Brits tuned into Heston Blumenthal serving up sizzling tempura snails on skewers in his televised Gothic Feast, there has been a rise in snail sceptics wanting to try the slippery creatures.

Did you know?

Snails have the reproductive organs of both males and females which categorises them as hermaphrodites. But the myth that they can create offspring on their own is false. They must mate and then both snails will have the ability to lay eggs.

The life span for snails depends on their habitat and the species. Some of them only live for about five years. However, others in the wild are believed to be at least 25 years old.

Snails are very strong – they can lift up to 10 times their own body weight in a vertical position.

It is not known how many species of molluscs are in existence. There could be more than 200,000 but many of them haven’t been found and classified yet.

Common snails feed by scraping a ribbon-like tongue covered in teeth called a radula, over their food. This allows them to scrape algae and lichen from the surface of rocks and walls.

Though they are the slowest animals in the world, the fastest in their species is the garden snail which can travel 55 yards per hour.

A snail can sleep for up to three years.

A land snail has two pairs of tentacles on its head. The longest pair carries the eyes and the second pair are for smelling and feeling.