TEACHERS and pupils thought they had gone nuts when they spotted a purple squirrel which has set up home at their school.

Baffled animal experts are struggling to explain why the squirrel – named Pete – has purple fur.

Pupils feared the animal may have fallen into purple paint or had a run-in with some purple dye at Meoncross School in Stubbington. But animal experts say they do not believe this explains its even colouring.

Since Pete made his first appearance, pupils, staff and parents have been trying to solve the riddle.

They have contacted vets and even e-mailed TV nature expert Bill Oddie to see if an explanation could be found.

Lorraine Orridge, the school’s registrar, believes Pete’s coloured fur looks like a school uniform.

She said: “The squirrel has become a bit of a legend among staff and pupils at the school.

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“He makes an appearance most days and we always look forward to seeing him.

“When we first spotted him he was more blue than purple, which we thought was great because it matches our school colours – it was like he was wearing his own uniform.

“He is a very shy character and only really comes out when pupils are in lessons. If anyone approaches he runs away.”

She added: “We don’t think he is a mutant squirrel but he may have had a mishap around the school. The old building where we have seen him nipping in and out is a bit of a graveyard for computer printers. He may have found some printer toners in there.We haven’t seen any purple baby squirrels yet.”

TV wildlife expert Chris Packham believes Pete will moult and lose his purple fur in time for spring. He said: “I have never seen anything like it before.

“Squirrels will chew anything even if it’s obviously inedible. It is possible he has been chewing on a purple ink cartridge and then groomed that colouring into his fur.

“Alternatively he may have fallen into a bucket containing a weak colour solution that has stained his fur, but he is unlikely to have fallen into paint because that would probably have killed him. The colouring does not seem to have done him any harm and I imagine he will return to his normal colour by spring when his fur moults.

“Underneath there’s a normal grey squirrel who has just given himself an unusual hair colour – you would pay a fortune for that in some salons!”