Pack of squirrels attack Cornish child, leaving him pouring blood
A three-year-old boy was left “dripping” blood after he was attacked by a pack of squirrels he was trying to feed in a Cornwall park.
His mother, Sophie Renouf, says the squirrels emerged from under a hedge at Tehidy Country Park, and pounced at and bit her son Finlay five times.
“All of a sudden six of them came at him. I’ve never heard such a heart-rending scream. There was blood dripping everywhere,” she told the BBC.
“There was blood pouring out of his hand and down his legs. It was all over him.”
As she rushed to intervene, Renouf had to fight off one of the creatures, which was trying to climb up her leg, she says.
The boy was taken from the scene to the minor injuries unit at nearby Barncoose Hospital.
He is now recovering with bandages on his fingers.
Renouf says the pair had been to Tehidy Country Park several times before to feed the squirrels, but “nothing like this has ever happened to us before.”
“It’s a warning to others,” she says.
Cornwall Council says it was “sorry to hear about the incident.”
“Many people visit Tehidy Country Park to see the squirrels so they are quite used to people being around and unafraid to approach if they think food might be available,” a spokesman said.
“However, they are wild animals which are naturally capable of finding their own food and we do not encourage or advise people to feed them or any of the wild birds at Tehidy.”
The council says it may put up warning signs about feeding animals “if this becomes a regular problem.”
