Tufty love!

ONE family are so nuts about squirrels they have turned their home into a sanctuary.

Ania and Paul Allum now have four of the bushy-tailed creatures living with them after starting out with just two rescued orphans.

They even care for a one-armed one that has become an internet star.

Ania, 51, said: “My hubby and son work for the local highways and one day in August last year they were called to help with the recovery of a tree blocking the road.

“Among the branches they found two baby orphaned grey squirrels. They brought them home wrapped in a jumper.

“They were so young they hadn’t opened their eyes, and they were in a bad way.”

Ania set about nursing them back to health and used a plastic syringe to feed them a mix of warm water, sugar and salt.

Amazingly, they responded and the Allums, from Hitchin, Herts, named them Ronnie and Reggie after the notorious Kray gangsters.

Ania said of the pair: “A week after being rescued, Ronnie opened her eyes for the first time. It was an incredible moment.

“Then she saw her brother and next they were hugging each other!”

The family planned to build up their strength before releasing them back into the wild. But grey squirrels are classed as vermin, and as an invasive species they cannot be freed back into the wild.

Some people suggested the animals should be put down, but Ania refused and applied for the special licence to care for them.

Paul, 50, and his son used logs, branches, ropes, and fleecelined hammocks to build a home for the new arrivals.

Now they have four living with them and Ania says they have a growing army of fans online. She said: “Our fourth rescue, Jason, is a real hit. Paul rescued him after a call and spotted that one of his arms looked broken so we had it amputated to save him. “We posted a photo of him afterwards and it went nuts.”

The family have to look after the squirrels around full-time jobs. Ania said: “They gnaw on coconuts, kale, blueberries, sweet potatoes… and Ronnie loves a bunch of roses to eat. It’s not cheap, but we’re nuts about them.” You can find out more by visiting hitchinsquirrelrescue.co.uk.