HRH The Prince and Wales met with Cumbrian red squirrel conservation volunteers today to launch the country's largest red squirrel conservation project.

Visiting Hutton-in-the-Forest, near Penrith, Prince Charles was greeted by owner Lady Cressida Inglewood, the High Sheriff of Cumbria James Carr, Eden District Council chair Joan Raine and her consort Frances Allen.

Speaking at the reception Prince Charles said it was wonderful to see so many people working together for the survival of the red squirrel and congratulated them on the work they have already done.

"Reds are returning to the woodlands and gardens where they were once terrorised by the greys. My dream is that red squirrels might thrive throughout the United Kingdom and it's here in the North of England that perhaps we could start to think that might be a reality thanks to people like yourselves."

A reception with around 100 guests was held to mark the launch of The Red Squirrels Northern England project and included many conservation volunteers. Lord Inglewood is involved in the Red Squirrel Conservation Trust and Prince Charles is patron of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust.

At the reception Prince Charles was presented with a statue of an orphaned young red squirrel, called after HRH, by Kirsty Kenny, member of the Brampton Red Squirrel Group.

Charles the squirrel was found by Penrith Red Squirrel Group member Sarah McNeil, of Thrimby, the partner of squirrel ranger Jerry Moss, and nursed back to health last year.

Prince Charles also spoke to Penrith Red Squirrel Group ranger Gary Murphy from Tebay. Mr. Murphy said the Prince remembered meeting him a couple of years ago at Levens Hall, near Kendal, and was really interested in how they were getting on helping the survival of the red squirrel.

Robert Benson, chairman of the Penrith Red Squirrel Group, also spoke to the Prince who congratulated him and other volunteers on their work and encouraged them to keep going.

Mr Benson said: "We are really, really pleased that he has given his support to the project and I think the really important thing is that he has raised the profile enabling a lot of doors to be opened for us."

The Red Squirrels Northern England project is a pioneering five-year project which will co-ordinate practical action across the region.

There are currently 17 red squirrel strongholds in northern England and The Forestry Commission is about to commission a review of these sites in order to ensure that government support continues to be targeted at the most appropriate areas.

The project will bring together existing and new programmes of red squirrel conservation work in the North East, the North West, and parts of Yorkshire and County Durham, with a combined value of £3.1million.