THE Isle of Wight is virtually the last stronghold in the south of England for our declining red squirrel population - but the threat of grey squirrels from the mainland could easily wipe them out.

It is believed there are at least 3,000 reds on the Island.

Saving the Island's red squirrel population is important, especially after three recent sightings of greys.

Isle of Wight Council believes the only way to protect the vulnerable red squirrels is to prevent greys from gaining a toehold on the Island - even if that means culling them.

A team of local and national experts have swung into action on the Island to trap and humanely kill any grey squirrels.

The Isle of Wight Council, Wight Squirrel Project, Wight Wildlife, English Nature, the Forestry Commission and Forest Enterprise have joined forces to tackle the problem.

Landowners have given their consent for trained forestry rangers to lay cage traps in their woodlands. The traps will be checked several times a day and any grey squirrels which are caught will be humanely dispatched. The traps are designed and set so they are unlikely to catch red squirrels.

So why is it so vitally important to preserve the red squirrel population?

Helen Butler, who runs the Wight Squirrel Project, said: "When we had the terrible storms in 1987, the numbers of red squirrels dropped.

"I have been involved with the preservation of red squirrels for 11 years and with our help the numbers increased in 1991.

"The Island is a nationally-important stronghold for our fast-disappearing native red squirrels. We are trying to ensure that the Isle of Wight will remain a grey squirrel-free zone."

Helen's interest in red squirrels was sparked when she joined the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. She said: "I had been working as a bank clerk but had to give up my job after suffering from repetitive strain injury. I wanted to do something different so became a conservation volunteer.

"I realised how the Island's red squirrel population was treading a thin line and needed protecting," she added.

The Wight Squirrel Project has tried to protect red squirrels in a number of ways, such as providing them with rope bridges across busy roads. The project is also now working on a squirrel-friendly 'tube' to span roads which are too wide for a rope.

Research, monitoring and surveys are carried out regularly. Currently, 'hairtubes' are in use to monitor squirrel activity.

Helen explained: "The hairtubes are merely a 1ft length of drainpipe with sticky pads at either end and food in the middle.

"As the squirrel enters to take food, it leaves hairs on the sticky pad. These are then examined under a microscope to ensure that they came from a red squirrel.

"We are trying to collate the actual numbers of red and grey squirrels on the Island. Although a dead grey squirrel was found on the Island and there have been a couple of other reported sightings, neither of these have been confirmed.

"It is very easy to misidentify greys as sometimes reds are greyish in colour. It may seem cruel to kill any greys that are found but it is necessary to preserve the red squirrel population.

"Once they have been caught, it is actually illegal to release them back into the wild.

"We aren't sure how grey squirrels get over to the Island from the mainland. They could stow away aboard the ferries or it could be that they have been maliciously brought over here."

Grey squirrels are such a threat to reds because they will out-compete the reds for food and shelter and are carriers of the deadly parapox virus which could wipe out the Island's population of red squirrels.

Isle of Wight Council ecology officer Colin Pope said: "We are asking members of the public to report possible sightings of grey squirrels to help us act quickly.

"Grey squirrels have grey rather than reddish brown fur, no ear tufts, and are bigger than red squirrels.

"They are quite bold and will run along the ground. Anyone who spots a grey squirrel should contact the Isle of Wight Council straight away with the details.

"But it is important that no member of the public attempts to dispatch squirrels themselves, because it can be all too easy for laymen to confuse the two species.

"It is essential the Island remains free of grey squirrels since it holds the best chance of conserving red squirrels and is a major stronghold for this threatened mammal."

If you would like further information about the Wight Squirrel Project, write to PO BOX 33, Ryde, Isle of Wight PO33 1BH.