A wildlife expert has said squirrels are to blame for a spree of bin-chewing vandalism.

Last month Wimbledon resident Kishoree Modasia said her food waste bin had been gnawed by a scavenging animal, and she thought foxes or squirrels were the culprits.

Now more Merton households are reporting similar problems.

Drakeford: "My bin was targeted"

Tony Drakeford, author of the Wimbledon Guardian’s Nature Notes series, said the tree-climbing rodents were behind the damage – adding the creatures had targeted his own bins in a bid to find food.

He said: “In fact, problems attributed to foxes are more likely to have been caused by grey squirrels, which can cause a great deal of damage digging up bulbs, raiding birds’ nests and stripping bark from saplings, thus killing young trees.”

William Bishop, of Woodstock Way, Mitcham, said his bin had been damaged in exactly the same way as Ms Modasia’s.

A council spokesman said the authority had received fewer than 10 complaints about the issue, and residents could ask for replacements if their bins were damaged by animals.

"We've created a monster"

But Mags Alexander, from Montrose Gardens, Mitcham, said she felt residents needed to take more responsibility.

She said: “It is appalling we throw food away at all, given that so much of the world is starving.

“If everyone sought to address this foxes, squirrels and rats could be severely curtailed by cutting off their food supply. Why buy what you are not going to eat?”

She suggested lobbying MPs to get manufacturers to limit the amount of packaging on goods.

She said: “We have created a monster we are failing to control.

"We expect refuse collectors to heave it all away from our houses, not caring for the state of their backs and refuse to accept the problem is of our own creation.

“It is within our hands to sort it.”

Click here to read Tony Drakeford's Nature Notes.

Is your bin under attack from squirrels? Leave a comment below, call us on 020 8330 9532 or email: newsdesk@wimbledonguardian.co.uk.