A craze for French bulldogs and other specialist dog breeds has seen rising number of pets abandoned, according to the Battersea Dogs Home, which says growing numbers of owners cannot afford to pay vet bills.

The pet rescue centre has seen an influx of flat-faced breeds like French bulldogs and pugs, which often have extensive health problems due to over-breeding.

It comes after Britain's leading vetinary experts warned that the trend was fuelling the dangerous overbreeding of bulldogs, resulting in agonising deformities and birth defects.

The animals have surged in popularity after celebrities including David Beckham, Madonna and Holly Willoughby were seen with pet French bulldogs.

Rather than being “cute and wrinkly”, experts claim that intensively bred "Frenchies" struggle to breathe due to their exaggerated features - with even short bouts of exercise triggering serious respiratory problems.

Alice Christie, a spokeswoman for the Battersea Dogs Home, said: "We tell people to imagine breathing through a drinking straw - that's what it's like for these breeds their airways are so narrow.

"Often the people who bring them in aren't irresponsible owners, they just can't afford the vet bills."

Breeds that have become the latest craze often end up on Battersea's doorstep when their new owner realises the reality of what they have taken on.