(332 views)

Nurses told to walk in pairs 'to protect them from squirrels'

Nurses have been told to walk in pairs or carry umbrellas to protect them from attacks by squirrels.

A number of NHS staff who visit patients in rural areas have been attacked in recent months by the rodents.

This has prompted health and safety officers to issue the precautionary guidelines, which also include making loud noises to scare off the animals.

According to the Daily Mirror newspaper one district nurse was left with "reddening of the scalp" after being attacked.

In her "squirrel attack report" she wrote: "On walking up farm access I was jumped upon by a squirrel. Then another landed on my head." She rated the "severity of incident" as "insignificant to catastrophic".

But alarmed officials deemed it so serious that they sent a report to the Department of Health in London.

Gregor Miller, a safety officer, said the nurse was shaken after the attack, which happened near Langley Park, County Durham.

He told the newspaper: "It's not every day you are attacked by a squirrel. It was a garden grey as far as we're aware.

"There were two of them, but they don't seem to hunt in gangs. We've had no other reports of squirrels - probably in hooded jackets - attacking staff."

Last year, inventor Mike Madden suffered whiplash after a squirrel leapt on him as he tested a head-mounted bird feeding tray in Huddersfield.