Speeding cars using rat run 'killing red squirrels'

Speeding drivers using a road as a "rat run" have been blamed for reducing a fragile population of red squirrels.

A small colony of reds, which are native to the UK, lives at Widdale, near Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

It is one of the few English strongholds for the species, whose numbers crashed after the introduction of the non-native grey squirrel.

There have now been calls for more signage to be installed to protect the animals after the recent "heartbreaking" discovery of a pregnant female which had been killed by a car.

Its body was found by Caroline Haworth, who runs a woodland retreat nearby.

"I think we are losing more red squirrels to cars than we do to grey squirrels," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She blamed the number of vehicles using the narrow Lanacar Lane, which connects the A684 to Sedbergh and the B6255 to Ingleton.

"Unfortunately we're on a cut-through. People fly down the lane.

"There's not many passing places so I think people try to get through without meeting any other vehicles."

Mrs Haworth said she had contacted the highways department at North Yorkshire Council and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority for help.

She hoped signage warning drivers of the presence of squirrels on the single-track lane would be provided.

"We need to deter drivers from using the road as a cut-through.

"If we can reduce cars in general, we can hopefully reduce fatalities."

North Yorkshire councillor for the Upper Dales, Yvonne Peacock, said she would also raise the issue.

"The road gets used as a rat run and cars do go down there too fast.

"Red squirrels are supposed to be protected and we need to do what we can to stop them from being run over."

The number of red squirrels has remained small because of competition for resources from greys.

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