A species so rare only 50 of their kind are believed to exist in the UK has been spotted in a park.

An albino squirrel was sighted at Mote Park in Maidstone at the weekend.

Photographer Jade Amos took an image of the red-eyed rodent on Saturday, October 7.

She spotted the animal in woodland opposite a playground in School Lane and quickly took her shot.

Albino squirrels are believed to account for just one in 100,000 squirrel species – making them one of the rarest animals to be seen on UK soil.

Information from whitesquirrels.co.uk says “wildlife experts estimate that there are just 50 in the UK”.

Speaking about spotting the creature, Mrs Amos said: “I was actually photographing a family at the time when we spotted it, hence why I had my camera with me.

“It was playing on the ground, making it difficult to capture in the autumn leaves.

“But we watched for a while and tried to get a little closer - I had a long range lens so that meant we didn't need to spook it.

“In the end, by luck, it started to run up the branch allowing a clear shot through the trees.

“We had never seen one before so were quite amazed by it.

“According to mythology, it's considered very lucky to see one and it is said to bring positive change to your life.

“We also discovered that only 1 in 100,000 are born albino.”

It comes as a ‘rare’ black sika deer was captured on film in woodland, near Cranbrook.

Albino squirrels exist due to them lacking the pigment melanin. This would otherwise normally result in a darker colouring of its fur.

They are most commonly found in Thailand and South East Asia, as well as eastern parts of the USA.