Plan to save red squirrels includes culling rival greys

Five-year strategy aims to protect iconic species that experts say could be extinct within 10 years

Red squirrels are at risk of dying out, say experts (Theo Louis)

An action plan backed by the government to try to save England’s red squirrels from dying out includes curbing numbers of rival greys.

Over the past 150 years, populations of much-loved reds have fallen so sharply that the species is classed as nationally endangered.

Volunteers, conservation organisations and government agencies are planning to join forces to protect and strengthen red squirrel populations, which are protected by law, and to expand their habitats.