More than one person a month is treated in a Glasgow hospital for a rat bit, official figures reveal.

In the last three years more than 7000 incidents of people being attacked by animals across the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area.

The vast majority, 6700 were for dog bites, but there were 41 recorded incidents were a person was bitten by a rat.

The Scottish Conservatives obtained figures from health boards across Scotland of people treated for injuries inflicted by animals.

The party sought the details as part of a campaign o call for greater action on dangerous dogs.

The information released also showed other animals and some bizarre cases.

In Grampian one person was treated for an injury caused by an alligator or crocodile.

The greater Glasgow area was responsible for the majority of cases.

Across Scotland there were almost 11,000 incidents with 7643 in the wider city region.

There were 7731 dog attacks and 6708 were in the NHSGG&C area.

Scottish Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone said: "Of course some of these incidents set out will have been the result of an accident or some kind of freak occurrence.

"However, the sheer scale of hospitalisations after a dog bite points to a much wider problem.

"If we don't get on top of the number of farms breeding these animals illegally, and the increase in people owning them who clearly aren't up to the job, this problem is just going to get worse.

"There will be other statistics within this that also cause concern, not least those people being hospitalised after an encounter with a rat.

"It's important the Scottish Government takes serious action on dangerous dogs, otherwise it will risk it becoming a genuine safety fear across the country."

In Ayrshire and Arran one man was treated after being "bitten or crushed" by a reptile, two pensioners in the Highlands were bitten by a venomous spider and cats were responsible for two people taken to hospital in Shetland.