A lucky photographer captured a one in 100,000 shot when he snapped a picture of an extremely rare albino squirrel.

The white furred and pink eyed critter was spotted scampering up a tree chasing one its grey counterparts by The Argus photographer Terry Applin from Brighton.

There are estimated three to five million grey squirrels in the UK and only one in 100,000 are born albino - meaning there are only between 30 to 50 in the wild at any one time.

The photographer said: “I was chatting with someone while waiting to do a job when someone shouted out 'look there is an albino squirrel'.

“He was shooting up a tree fighting and chasing with a grey one so I took the camera out, which only had a wide lens on it, and managed to get a few shots.

“I had my back to them at the time and if it wasn't for someone spotting them and shouting we would have missed it.”

This is not Terry's first time seeing an albino squirrel though, getting the odds of one in 100,000 twice in his lifetime.

He said: “If I had those odds for the lottery I would be a happy man but all I get is white squirrels.”

Jess Price, conservation officer at the Sussex Wildlife Trust said she has about three reports of spotting of Albino squirrels a year.

She added the sightings are always in south East Sussex and may be the same animal.

She said: “In general albino animals are rare. Firstly because the mutation caused by a recessive gene and when they are born they do not do as well.

“Albinos have poorer eyesight and are easier targets from predators as they stand out so much.

“Albino grey squirrels tend to do better than others as they have very few natural predators.

“I see maybe about three records a year, usually from East Sussex in the area around Hastings.

“Grey squirrels are normally quite feisty, so this albino one may have to be even feistier to survive.”