Your country needs you - to halt relentless march of the grey squirrels

"Kielder is the key to all this. So far, the greys have been sneaking round the edge of the forest and coming into Scotland that way. But if they make it into Kielder and across the Border, things will get a lot worse. We have to stop them." - ELLY HAMILTON, CONSERVATION OFFICER

Story in full THE call has gone out to volunteers to take up arms against a cross-border invasion of pox-ridden grey squirrels that could wreak untold havoc among Scotland's reds.

Nature groups, scientists and local councils in northern England are warning that grey squirrels carrying a virus deadly to their red cousins are continuing their seemingly inevitable spread north, this time threatening to open up a new front on the eastern side of the Borders.

Should the diseased greys breach the makeshift defences being thrown in their path, experts say Scotland's iconic reds, believed to number around 120,000, could all be doomed.

The Southern Uplands Partnership, which helps oversee the wild areas of the Borders, is so concerned about the cross-Border invasion that it has hired two new rangers to shoot and trap marauding greys.

But the partnership accepts that its two full-time marskmen will not be enough to turn the tide of battle on their own, and is urging locals and visitors alike to report any sightings of grey squirrels on the Scottish side of the Border.

At the heart of the struggle is squirrel fibroma, a viral disease which produces multiple tumours on the skin of carriers. But while greys can survive infection, the smaller reds cannot, and whenever infected greys arrive, the red population rapidly dwindles.

Red squirrels are native to Britain, but greys were introduced from America more than a century ago and have spread relentlessly ever since. While some people believe the greys' spread simply reflects the fact that they are bigger and stronger than their cousins, scientists say the disease is the best explanation for the immigrants' ability to oust their native cousins.

Pox-carrying greys have almost completely conquered England and even mounted some isolated raids into Scotland, though so far the disease has not been transmitted to any Scottish reds.

While a handful of infected greys managed to sneak over the Border from Cumbria earlier this year, activists now warn that the invading hordes are making a fresh thrust in Northumberland and the giant Kielder Forest.

Northumberland is home to about 75 per cent of all red squirrels in England, and the vast majority live in Kielder.

Castle Morpeth Council, whose territory includes Kielder, has recorded six cases of the pox in the last two months and fears that the virus is heading for Kielder. "Previously we thought they'd only come as far north as Newcastle, but the front line has moved up to us now," said a council spokesman.

Following those cases, the Northumberland Wildlife Trust has issued an appeal to locals to report any greys, and is even offering to lend out traps to those willing to participate directly.

It is estimated that around 70 per cent of greys in England have been exposed to the virus, though Scotland's greys are still untouched.

But Elly Hamilton, a conservation officer for the Red Squirrels in South Scotland project, based in Galashiels, said all that could change if infected greys make it into Kielder and across the Border.

"Kielder is the key to all this. So far, the greys have been sneaking round the edge of the forest and coming into Scotland that way.

"But if they make it into Kielder and across the Border, things will get a lot worse," she said. "We have to stop them."

• Contact the Red Squirrels in South Scotland group on 01750 23446 and www.red-squirrels.org.uk