A project trying to protect the red squirrel is planning how to provide contraception for rival grey squirrels.

More than £150,000 of funding has been awarded to the Northumberland Wildlife Trust for their red squirrel project.

The five-year project will see cooperation between a number of northern environment charities to protect the species.

During the first year, the countrywide team is looking into how large-scale grey squirrel fertility control can be provided.

This comes after the huge successes of the breeding programme at the Yorkshire Arboretum.

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Helen Featherstone, Director of the North of England National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Thanks to the National Lottery players, we’re delighted to support the development phase of this project that will enable Northumberland Wildlife Trust and its community partners to take a collaborative approach to protect the native red squirrel and give it the best chance of survival.

“It is such a magical experience to catch a glimpse of this rare creature – it would be incredible for this to be a more regular occurrence within our natural heritage space.”

Mike Pratt, Chief Executive of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, explained how important the funding will be to prevent the extinction of the beautiful species.

He said: “We are delighted to have been successful in our application for development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund as we believe the proposed project will make a sustainable long-term contribution to preventing the extinction of red squirrels in England and Southern Scotland.

“The development funding will enable us to work closely with our partners and community groups to build strong applications for the next round of approval.”

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The UK is at a ‘critical’ point in the recovery of red squirrels after they were driven out of England by grey squirrels.

One key area of research an effective way of delivering grey squirrel contraception.

Another area of the campaign will aim to increase public awareness of the predatory role pine martens play and the impact they have on red squirrels.