Red squirrels born in captivity

There are plans to bring in other squirrels to prevent inbreeding

A wildlife centre trying to establish a colony of red squirrels has managed to breed its first litter of the animals.

Two of the increasingly rare creatures were born at Small Breeds Farm Park in Kington, Herefordshire, 10 weeks ago.

Red squirrels are native to the UK but their numbers have fallen drastically since the more durable American grey squirrel was introduced in the country.

The park hopes to add to its total of four squirrels, which can no longer be found in the wild in the West Midlands.

Animals imported

Spokesman for the park Jay Brittain told BBC Midlands Today: "What I really would like to do is have two or three colonies of them and get in some fresh blood because what I've got to be very careful of is not to have inbreeding.

"I don't know of many places across the country that have bred red squirrels.

"Hence most of the squirrels that you will often see in collections have been imported from Holland or Germany."

Among the few remaining strongholds for wild red squirrels in the UK are Cumbria, the North East of England and parts of Scotland.