Medway Council's headquarters is being plagued by squirrels who are invading the offices, eating employees' lunches and setting off alarms.

A recent memo to managers at the council's Gun Wharf office warns of the health and safety risks posed by the pesky intruders and advises staff to keep windows closed at the end of the day, not to leave food on desks or feed the squirrels scraps, and not to pick them up.

“I’m writing to raise your attention to issues relating to the squirrels which, as you may know, visit us on a daily basis by running around the window ledges and are often enticed by staff feeding them scraps,” begins the memo from the council's employee engagement manager.

“As the hot weather continues and staff have the windows open the squirrels are getting braver and are venturing inside the offices to find food.

“Indeed, last week a squirrel came into an office on level 2, ate food left on the desk and it took an hour for the caretakers to remove it. In other instances squirrels are getting locked in and setting off internal alarms.”