Penryn pets are in safe hands as a new family-run veterinary practice has opened on Kernick Road.

Cornish Paws is run by husband-and-wife, vet-and-nurse team Matt and Sam Thomas with the occasional helping hand from son Mawgan.

Specialising in treating nervous patients, Matt takes a different approach to pet care than other vets.

He believes that restraints and sedatives should be avoided whenever possible, and a good examination is one that goes mostly unnoticed.

Anxious animals are given extra time to make sure they are comfortable, and there is plenty of space at the brand-new premises next to Penryn Rugby Club that even has an outdoor courtyard in case patients need a breath of fresh air and a leg-stretch.

He said: "Animals hate restraints; it makes them panic. If we know we have got nervous patients it's just allowing them the time."

After three years and a "huge amount of work" setting up the premises, which is decked-out with brand-new equipment, the family is finally enjoying running their own business.

Matt said: "We can do things as we want to do them. There's no overselling, we're conscious that prices need to be kept fair and sensible."

He said it was "slightly terrifying not knowing if anyone's going to come through the doors," at first, but the feeling did not last long as people started to show up.

Cornish Paws' first-ever patient was a bat with a broken wing. Matt performed an operation and turned around to find that the surgery was "heaving".

He said: "We haven't had time to look back since then - we haven't had to worry whether people would come. It really feels like the community is behind us, supporting us as a local business."

He will treat any animal and can perform high-level surgeries and emergency operations on-site.

Matt has known what he wanted to do from a young age – one of his earliest memories involving a family friend seeing how good he was with animals and suggesting he become a vet.

He said: "I can't imagine doing anything else."