Sefton red squirrels recover from pox 'nose dive'

Merseyside's red squirrels, which were nearly wiped out by squirrel pox, have "bounced back" to repopulate the area.

A Red Squirrels Northern England report found the Sefton population, which fell to about 150 after the 2008 epidemic, was around 1,000.

It also found the animals had created small but viable populations in nearby areas of Lancashire.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust's Fiona Whitfield said the increase was the third highest since monitoring began.

She added that the figures "reinforce the conclusion drawn over the past couple of years that the red squirrel population in the coastal pine woods is continuing to recover".

A spokesman for the trust said Sefton had about 1,500 red squirrels before the outbreak of the virus in 2008 and saw almost 90% of the population killed.

He said it was "fantastic" that the number had gone back up to about 1,000.

Ms Whitfield said: "These results reinforce the conclusion drawn over the past couple of years that the red squirrel population in the coastal pine woods is continuing to recover."

Sefton's red squirrels live predominantly in the Ainsdale National Nature Park and the National Trust's Formby reserve, but investigations of "buffer zones" had found they had moved into adjacent areas.

The study found small populations in Ince Blundell, Little Crosby, Scarisbrick, Halsall Moss, Shirdley Hill and Crosby.

A sighting of red squirrels at Knowsley Park was also confirmed, but a significant population could not be confirmed in the area.

The findings have come as part of a wider process of mapping the presence of red and grey squirrels across the north of England by Red Squirrels Northern England.