A grey squirrel control officer says there is no other option to trapping and killing the greys after a number of cases of squirrelpox were confirmed in the Borders.

A grey squirrel control co-ordinator in southern Scotland has said their “complete extermination” is the only way to protect red squirrels in the area from a deadly virus.

A number of cases of squirrelpox have been confirmed in the Borders and other parts of the country in recent weeks.

Bill Ferguson of the Central Borders Red Squirrel Network said it meant there was no other option to stop the spread of the disease than “eradication of the grey squirrel”.