Rare white squirrel spotted in Edinburgh

They are extremely rare, with only around 50 believed to live in the UK.

White squirrels are believed to be very rare.

Now an unusual white squirrel has been spotted in Edinburgh - climbing trees in a suburban village.

Nicola Webb and her two sons, Evan, 4 and Jacob, 2 spotted the snowy squirrel in a tree in Cramond while the children were on their way to nursery this morning.

Ms Webb posted a picture of the rare animal on Facebook.

She wrote: "Is a white squirrel a sign of a white Christmas?!... hope so!! Spotted by my boys on their way to nursery this morn in Cramond."

The squirrels's white fur is either because they are albino, or because they are born with leucism, a mutated gene which turns them white but keeps their eyes black.

Admirers of the squirrel's pristine coat took to social media to express their excitement at seeing the animal.

One person wrote: "Oh how unusual to see a white Squirrel!! WOW."

Last month, two of the creatures were spotted by American tourists in the garden of a guest house in Pitlochry , Perthshire.