Lea Marshes has amazingly, fantastic slugs and many do not appear to be the common or garden variety. The type photographed is the Large Black Slug (Arion ater) and this can be 20cm in length when fully extended. It has a surprisingly vibrant orange edge to what slug experts call the sole, that is the bottom it slides along on. It is an ominvore eating dung along with any carcass it can find. It will also eat plants but prefers them when they are rotten. All in all it's a thoroughly desirable creature (a genuine recycler) and far from deserving the nasty image slugs have of being the enemy of the gardener. According to the text books it's supposed to be mostly nocturnal but it is very commonly observed during the day, especially on paths after rain.
