Sutton’s rare albino squirrel has been breeding, according to the South London Guardian’s nature expert.

New photos of the unusual animals were sent into the newsroom this week and it is thought they are mother and offspring.

Nature expert Tony Drakeford believes the appearance of a second squirrel is firm evidence that the mother has recently bred.

He said: “These are definitely albino squirrels and the second one is almost certainly an offspring.

"One albino squirrel is extremely rare but two is almost unheard of.

“Having said that, albinism is more common is squirrels now than other woodland animals and albino squirrels are being spotted more frequently than they used to be.”

It is also believed that grey squirrels bully their albino counterparts similar to the way children in a playground bully a child whose appearance is slightly different.

The squirrels were spotted last week by Chris Wilkinson, from Wallington, although he said one of the pair has been feeding in his garden for some time.

Chris, of Harcourt Avenue, has even given the pair names.

He said: “Alma has been coming into the communal gardens where I live in Wallington for almost three years, but Arnie has only just appeared in the last few weeks.”

Albino squirrels do not live long due to their bright colour, which is easily spotted by predators.

Only 1 in every 100,000 squirrels are born with albinism. Despite being very rare they have been popping up around south London for the past 100 years.