THE mystery of pairs of shoes dangling from powerlines in Holt has been solved after locals returning home from the village pub spotted several squirrels scurrying up a telegraph pole with stolen footwear gripped firmly in their mouths.

Local wildlife expert Avril Primejour, from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, believes the furry tree dwelling rodents are using the shoes for nesting.

“A population explosion can cause a shortage of territory for the squirrels and they will use anything that comes to paw to satisfy their nesting urges,” she said.

"There have been other recorded incidences of them using shoes particularly around the town of Street in Somerset and some states in the USA - which is where grey squirrels are native. I don't think it's occured to red squirrels to do this but we don't have any living in Wiltshire."

A regular at the Ham Tree pub in Holt, who did not wish to be named, said: "I’ve never seen anything like it, but there were three squirrels scampering up the pole at half past ten at night with a pair of trainers.

"I’ve no idea how they tied the laces.”

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