FOREST chiefs have confirmed that another rare animal has taken up home at a North Yorkshire beauty spot.

The Forestry Commission said a photo taken of a mystery insect outside Dalby Forest, near Pickering, North Yorkshire, in September was of a Great Green Bush Cricket - England's biggest insect and the first recorded sighting of the creature in the county for at least 70 years.

The 4.5cm critter was flying across the forest drive when it caught the eagle eye of nature lover Tina Randall and her party, who initially thought it was a locust.

When it landed on a shrub she snapped a picture and later compared the image with others online, leading her to correctly guess its identity and tip-off the Forestry Commission.

Crickets are very rare in the north, preferring the warmer climate of southern England.

But the warming trend linked to climate change could mean they are spreading their wings and could be soon making themselves heard in the region in the dead of night.

Brian Walker, Forestry Commission wildlife officer, said: "We need to find out whether this is an isolated insect that's way off course - a so-called vagrant - or whether it's putting down roots.

"We know that the picture is of a female, so that opens up some interesting possibilities of little crickets hopping around.

"We will be pinning back our ears from July onwards and doing twilight surveys to try and hear its distinctive call.

"It's early days but we could be about to write another chapter in the natural history of North Yorkshire's forests."

Bush crickets are strong flyers so if climatic and habitat conditions are favourable there is little to stop the creature colonising new areas.

Experts at York University who confirmed the species' identity were said to be amazed at the discovery.

Many other creatures have emerged in Dalby Forest in recent years, including the speckled wood butterfly, which is now fairly widespread beauty spot.

Wood lark have also moved into Forestry Commission woods in the Vale of York.