Three-year-old Finley was out walking with his mum, Sophie Renouf, in the local park when he was attacked by a scurry of grey squirrels as he tried to feed them.
According to Sophie, six of the creatures appeared out of the undergrowth while he tried to feed one and bit him. Talking about the shocking incident, Renouf said that she heard her son screaming before noticing blood coming out of his hand.
“There was one squirrel there and my son, as you would, fed him as usual. Next thing, six of them came running out of the hedge and then, all of a sudden, all I remember is him screaming. I looked and there was blood pouring out of his hand,” she said.
Young Finley was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske and treated for puncture wounds; Sophie has been advised to keep the cuts covered to prevent infection.
Explaining that she had fed squirrels as a child herself, Sophie said maybe there were babies around as Finley hadn't touched them.
"I didn’t see him do anything like that, so I assume they’ve just had babies – or they’re about to," she said.
Cornwall council has said they don’t encourage people to feel the wild animals, adding that they may put up signs if it becomes a regular problem.
“We are sorry to hear about the incident at Tehidy country park. Many people visit Tehidy to see the squirrels so they are quite used to people being around and unafraid to approach if they think food might be available," they said.
"However, they are wild animals which are naturally capable of finding their own food and we do not encourage or advise people to feed them or any of the wild birds at Tehidy.
“There are currently no specific signs advising against feeding the squirrels but we have displayed notices to this effect in the past and may do again if this becomes a regular problem.”
