MIDLANDS pet owners cannot bear to leave their pets at home, preferring to cough up millions of pounds a year to take them along on holiday, according to a new survey by Frontline Spot On, a flea and tick preventative.

The research shows a third of owners now take their pet away with them and are happy to pay for the privilege, with West Midland pet owners spending, on average, an extra £116 to keep their pet by their side.

Pets from the Midlands and Edinburgh are most badly behaved on holiday. It is no easy ride for pet owners either, packing an average of 10 holiday accessories just for their pet. Fifty-five per cent say taking their pet away with them is harder work than taking their kids.

Brits abroad get a bad rap and their pets are no different, with 38% of pet owners admitting their pets misbehave while on holiday, with pets from Midlands and Edinburgh earmarked as the worst.

Pet bad behaviour draws more than a few similarities to people’s own, including getting more rowdy, relentlessly chasing “birds”, wrecking hotel furniture, scrapping with the “locals” and weeing where they should not.

When behaving, favourite pastimes for pets while on holiday include sunbathing (38%), sleeping under the stars (29%) and swimming (21%).

Brits are also a nation of worriers when it comes to their pets on holiday - 35% of owners fret their pets will run off, get stressed (31%), get ill (18%) or catch fleas (six per cent). Women are the most anxious for their four-legged friends, with 74% of them worrying about their pets on holiday, compared to just 61% of men.

Of those that do go on holiday without their beloved pets, 67% will call home to speak to their pet or check up on them and five per cent will Facetime or Skype their pet, just to see their face.