Skunk filmed visiting man's hedgehog home near Reading

A skunk - an animal not native to the UK - has been caught on camera visiting a hedgehog house in a Berkshire garden.

Clive Wraight said he was amazed to see the creature running across his lawn in Earley, near Reading, on 6 March.

Mr Wraight's motion-activated trail cameras showed the skunk spent more than six hours in one of his empty hedgehog houses during the morning.

He said inquiries on social media suggested the animal had been spotted previously by local residents although the owner could not be traced.

Marwell Zoo in Hampshire said the footage appeared to show a striped skunk, a species which is native to North America.

A spokeswoman said: "There has been talk of skunks living in the wild in the UK and it is thought these individuals may originate from previous accidental escapes.

"Most exotic pets won't survive being released into the wild but if they do, they can sometimes pose a risk to native animals and habitats."

(Video copyright: Clive Wraight)

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.