Boots was put down on the advice of a vet due to the pain he was in

The body looked into the blinding of terrier Boots after he had been on a walk near verges that had been sprayed.

It found no link between the incidents, but did find the council had breached pesticide control regulations by spraying too near a watercourse.

A council said it was "satisfied that our works were not responsible".

Boots had been taken for a walk in the village of Llanfallteg by Spencer Jeremiah, father of the dog's owner.

Afterwards, he said the pet had started bumping into objects and his eyes had become irritated and watery.

Photographs

A vet prescribed painkillers but, after two weeks, the family decided it would be better for Boots' welfare if he was put down.

After the claims about the cause of the dog's blindness were made, the HSE reviewed the council's procedures for using herbicides.

Photographs submitted to the HSE by a member of the public showed that some spraying could have taken place closer to a watercourse than was allowed under buffer zone regulations, but this would not have affected the dog.

A spokesman for the body said: "From our point of view, there's no link between the spraying of pesticides and the blinding and subsequent death of the dog".

The authority has since reviewed its spraying procedures, as advised by the HSE, and introduced extra safeguards.

A spokesman for the council said: "While we appreciate the distress and sadness of the family, we are totally satisfied that our works were not responsible for this."

Friends of the Earth Cymru (FoE), had asked the HSE to investigate after Boots went blind.

FoE campaigner Gordon James said: "We are pleased that the HSE's ruling will ensure that the council will now have to be much more careful in its use of pesticides".