A HUNGRY squirrel grabbed himself a takeaway during the recent cold snap.

With natural food sources running low, the squirrel had to turn to fast food to survive the long winter months.

After rummaging through a bin in South Park, Darlington, the grey squirrel turned his attention to the remains of a pizza on a park bench.

After carefully negotiating his way onto the bench, he began nibbling the tasty treat.

But after a few minutes, he turned into a pizza express when he grabbed a slice between his teeth and charged from the bench.

The squirrel then took the pepperoni slice up a nearby tree to eat it undisturbed.

Onlooker Jason Good, 46, said: “It was an hilarious sight seeing the little squirrel running along with a slice of pizza in its mouth.

“He took ages to get up on the bench, but once he did he tucked straight into the pizza.

“He must have got worried about others wanting a bite because he took it up a tree to finish it off. It just shows that there can’t be much natural food about if squirrels are eating pizza to survive.”

Mark Wilkinson, a squirrel expert from Northumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “It has been a particularly bleak year for natural food sources, so this doesn’t surprise me.

“Grey squirrels are opportunistic animals. If they see food, whatever it is, they are going to take it.”