Cats are dying in their dozens every month by accidental drinking anti-freeze. 

Environment minister George Eustace said he was concerned that many were being poisoned because of the trend of putting anti-freeze into garden water features over the winter months.

The product is attractive to animals as it contains an extremely toxic sweet chemical called ethylene glycol.

Consuming it, even in small doses can lead to kidney failure and death. 

Charity, Cats Protection, recorded  1,197 reports of anti-freeze poisoning of cats in the country since November 2012. 

In a debate on Monday December 1 in the House of Commons, Mr Eustace called for warning labels to be placed on bottles of anti-freeze to warn consumers of the dangers to pets.

He said: “I do understand some people may even be using anti-freeze in their garden water features to stop them freezing up in winter and there are some reports of this.

“There are internet chat forums discussing whether this is sensible or not to use anti-freeze in such features and this could result in animals being inadvertently poisoned, whether domestic pets or wildlife.

“We don't know again whether this is the cause but it certainly has the potential to be and it's another issue that caused me some concern when investigating this issue ahead of the debate.”