VIDEO: Tame squirrels shock for Leighton garage staff

Dan Fountaine thought he was going nuts when the rodent walked under the ramp and into Portways Garage off Billington Road.

Normally squirrels will run a mile when a human gets within a few paces of them, but this little critter strolled into Dan’s hands and has even been perched on the shoulders of staff at the garage!

And word’s obviously got round about the garage’s home comforts as within 24 hours another squirrel wandered in to join his furry friend!

Dan’s first friend arrived on Monday (April 25).

He said: “I put my hand out and it just walked onto it, I wasn’t afraid of it biting me.

“I was quite surprised really, I did not think we would get within 12 feet of a wild squirrel, they normally run away within seconds of a human being getting close to it.”

The squirrel spent the night at the garage in one of the fleeces and was joined by the second squirrel on Tuesday afternoon.

Dan told the LBO on Tuesday: “Another squirrel came in today, they have eaten Weetabix.

“We have also given them puppy milk and crushed chickpeas. We have been feeding them with a syringe every hour, so it’s a bit incovenient!”

Dan added: “My mum wants to keep them, so we will for now.

“They are too tame to go back into the wild.”

On Thursday, when the LBO checked on the squirrels’ progress Dan said the pair were showing no signs of going anywhere – indeed at the time of our call they were both perched on the shoulders of his work colleague!

Beds Wildlife Rescue were contacted by the LBO and said if the squirrels were young then their behaviour would most likely revert to type in due course. They added that if Dan was intending to keep the squirrels he would need a licence.

A spokesman for Leighton’s Ark House Vets added: “It’s quite unusual for grey squirrels to be so tame – it may be they have been regularly fed by humans.

“We would always caution people to be really careful – they can give a really nasty bite!”