Paws to vote: The best dogs at polling stations

Local elections are underway and that can only mean one thing - a swathe of pictures of cute pets at polling stations have taken over social media.

Dogs of Britain have been doing their democratic duty by escorting their owners to vote...and then posing up for a photograph.

Grabbing a snap of dogs met at the polling station has also become a staple of modern democracy and a perk of casting a ballot.

Here are some of the best posted from today's election:

A spokesman for the electoral watchdog said there were no firm laws about the role of dogs at polling stations.

Guide or support dogs are always allowed to accompany their owner as they cast their ballot.

It's up to local vote administrators to decide whether other pets should be allowed inside the building or if they must be tethered outside.

As well as the omnipresent dogs, there were also a handful of cats out to vote and a few pets caught on camera overseeing postal votes.