ENGLAND’S RED SQUIRRELS AT SERIOUS RISK OF EXTINCTION

The red squirrel could disappear from the countryside within a generation, warn campaigners

- Maria Hodson

England's iconic red squirrels are declining at a rate that suggests imminent extinction, conservationists have warned.

Campaign group Save Our Reds says the species is declining so sharply that it could disappear from England within a generation. More than 80,000 people have signed its petition calling on the Government to do more to protect the animals.

Once a familiar sight across the British countryside, as well as in children’s literature, red squirrels have all but vanished from many parts of the nation. When Beatrix Potter published