A “RARE” albino squirrel has been spotted by a dog walker.

Michelle Bourner saw a completely white squirrel while walking her black Labrador Roxy in Hastings last week.

The 37-year-old says she had never seen the unusual looking creature before, despite that being her usual walking route.

According to the Forestry Commission, the condition is causes by a rare gene inherited from the creatures' parents.

In 2010, only one in 100,000 squirrels were born albino, with about 50 such creatures thought to live in the UK.

After photographing the squirrel on Thursday, October 14, Michelle said: "I couldn’t believe it - we have lots of squirrels around where we live, but only the grey squirrels.

"So, when I saw this beautiful white one, I couldn’t believe it.

"It was just on the grass by the woods where we live in Hastings, then when I moved closer to check it was 100% a squirrel it ran up the tree.

"That’s when I started filming as I thought no one would believe me.”

The video shows the white squirrel scuttling up a tree in the woods.

The Argus: ‘Rare’ albino squirrel spotted by dog walker in Hastings ‘Rare’ albino squirrel spotted by dog walker in Hastings

The animals white fur makes them more vulnerable to attack from predators as they have no natural camouflage.

Albino animals lack melanin and are white with no markings and with unpigmented pink eyes.

Albino squirrels also tend to have poor eyesight and hearing problems.

A website created for the public to record sightings of a white squirrel show more than 200 have been spotted in places including Sussex, Kent, Surrey and London.

There have been more than 30 sightings submitted across the UK in the past two weeks.