In 2005 an adult male red squirrel was killed by traffic near Brynsceincyn, this was the first red squirrel to be killed on the islands roads in modern times. A second animal was run over on the narrow lane leading down to Red Wharf Bay from the small hamlet of Wern Y Wylan in the autumn of 2007. With red squirrels now returning to woodlands across the south of the island, we believe it is time for road signs warning drivers of the presence of red squirrels to be erected.

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Red squirrels and our roads

Tufty (Fluffytail) and his animal friends were created by Elsie Mills MBE and introduced clear and very simple safety messages to young children about the dangers of roads and vehicle traffic. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) road safety campaign launched 'The Tufty Club' in the early 1960s, and at its height there were over 20,000 branches throughout the country, with many hundreds of thousands of school children members. The club continued through the 70s and into the 1980s.

Many of us grew up with Tufty, and with the help of the little red squirrel puppet, we learned not to walk out into the road from behind parked cars, but only to cross where it was safe and we could be seen. Today however, the roles are reversed, and it is the enchanting little woodland mammal which is in need of our help to enable it to move from woodland to woodland across roads.

Red squirrels are frequently killed on roads in the North of England and Scotland, and in many areas Local Authorities have erected road traffic warning signs to make drivers aware that red squirrels are in the area, and that animals may dash across the road in front of traffic.

As red squirrels return to woodlands across Anglesey, north Wales, and the population increases, the risk of road deaths rises. We are therefore campaigning for warning signs to be erected at sevaral locations on the island. A request has been submitted to Anglesey County Council Highways and we are also in contact with Weksh Assembly Government.

Proposed locations for road signs

B5109 Pentreath/Llansadwrn

B5109 Beaumaris

A545 Menai Bridge/Beaumaris

A4080 Newborough/Aberffraw

& the lane running to Red Wharf Bay from Wern y Wylan