‘Kill them, kill them, kill them’: the volunteer army plotting to wipe out Britain’s grey squirrels

The red squirrel is under threat of extinction across Britain. Their supporters believe the only way to save them is to exterminate their enemy: the greys. But are they just prejudiced against non-native species? By Patrick Barkham

One snowy dawn in March, I went hunting for squirrels in the Lake District. In the silent and empty woods beneath the Aira Force waterfall, the only thing moving was a solitary red squirrel, balanced on a nut-filled feeder hanging from a tree. If you grew up, as I did, with the grey squirrel, seeing a red squirrel is a shock. We're used to the grey - a sleek, North American import, swaggering across parks, raiding bird tables, all fat haunches and bulbous black eyes. In contrast, the red squirrel, although native to Britain, looks exotic: so dainty and alertly pretty, with fine tufts of hair above its ears as extravagant as the eyebrows of Denis Healey. Here, in the snow, this forest sprite quivered with improbable, balletic grace and then - clang - slipped on the icy lid of the feeder and fell to the ground. It landed on its feet.

Julie Bailey, a former gymnast with a cascade of red hair, had picked me up from the nearby town of Penrith and driven her black 4x4 along slushy roads to admire this natural acrobat. At Aira Force, she stepped out of the car and, leaning on a stick, walked carefully across the snow. She and her husband, Phil, used to enjoy watching red squirrels at their feeders in the garden; these animals were still a common sight across northern Cumbria a decade or so ago. Bailey worked in pharmaceuticals and coached boys in gymnastics, including her son. But in 2005, she broke her back. She couldn't walk for four years. Seventeen spinal operations later, she only walks thanks to a spinal cord stimulator, powered by a battery in her stomach. When it malfunctions, she collapses. She doesn't make a fuss, but she is in pain 24 hours a day and is intolerant to painkillers. "Because I was stuck at home," she said, "I started taking more notice of my squirrels. They really gave me a purpose."