Red squirrel spotted in Holme

There were three separate reports of a normally elusive red scampering around Holme last week.

Roy Healey was in his mother-in-law's garden on Wednesday (May 11) morning when he saw the long-tailed mammal.

"I assume it was being chased by a cat or a dog," he said. "It ran on to my mother-in-law's greenhouse and we watched it for 10 minutes."

Mr Healey, who has not seen a red squirrel in the area for the past 40 years, said that it was 'quite a sight'.

"I was just blown away because it was so petrified," he said. "It went up and down a silver birch tree about 20 times - it was terrified."

Simon O'Hare, of Red Squirrels Northern England (RSNE), said that sightings are not 'massively common' in the Holme area.

"There was one red squirrel just to the south of that area last year," he said. "This will be the first one this year."

RSNE states that although viruses and changes to the landscape have both contributed to the red's decline, it is the non-native grey squirrel from America that is the main reason behind it.

The Westmorland Red Squirrels group also received two reports of squirrel sightings on the same day, in the same area.

Nadira Petterson, who lives on North Road, saw the animal at around 8.30am and managed to take pictures to prove it.

However, despite the excitement that these sightings have caused amongst enthusiasts, it is possible that this particular squirrel was an escapee.

Jane Gibbins, the assistant manager at The Lakeland Wildlife Oasis, reported that they had a red squirrel missing at the time of the sightings, although it has since been found.

Bob Cartwright, the secretary for the Westmorland Red Squirrels group, said that it would be 'very exciting' if it had been a wild red.

"We are hoping it was a wild one," he said. "We have made a concerted effort to suppress the number of greys in that area and we think that we have made real progress.

"So that's creating the conditions where reds are able to thrive."