Nuts to them! Businessman's war on garage fire squirrels

 
'Enough is enough': Alby Tebbutt is gunning for squirrels who nibbled through a wire causing a fire in a garage at his home in Romford Picture: Nigel Howard
NIGEL HOWARD
Michael Howie25 March 2013

A businessman has declared war on squirrels after they caused a fire that burned down his garage.

Alby Tebbutt describes himself as an animal lover who leaves nuts and seeds for birds outside his home in Romford.

But the food also attracted squirrels, who apparently nibbled through an electric wire in the garage, causing the blaze.

Mr Tebbutt, who owns a removal company, was in a funeral procession when he got a call from a workman at his house telling him about the fire. He said: “The driver passed me my phone and the person said my house was on fire. I said, ‘Don’t mess about, I’m at a funeral.’ But he was serious. So I told the driver to take a left at the roundabout and we headed off to the house.”

When they got there, firefighters were putting out the blaze. An investigation traced the source of the fire to an eaten-through wire in the upper part of the garage — most likely caused by a squirrel.

Mr Tebbutt, 73, a former Havering Tory councillor, says he is ready to start shooting squirrels with an air rifle. “Everyone says I’m an animal lover, but enough is enough. I have tortoises, three ponds with newts and fish, and I put out bags and bags of peanuts for all the birds and animals,” he said. “The squirrels have been eating all the food — now they’ve nearly burned my house down.”

It is legal to kill grey squirrels and most people do it by trapping and shooting. But the Animal Welfare Act 2006 rules that it is illegal to cause “unnecessary suffering” to animals.

The RSPCA warns that “squirrels may suffer if the shooting is not accurate”.

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