ONE of the most important animal sightings in England for many years has been made by a man from Church Stretton who was out for a walk in the woods.

Dave Pearce was out and about in the forest when something caught his eye.

The 54-year-old who has lived in south Shropshire all his life is very low key about his achievement that has made national headlines.

The quick walker was able to take a snap shot before the ‘mystery’ animal sped off into the undergrowth.

“I was out for a walk in the evening when something caught my eye and I was able to get a photograph before it disappeared,” said Dave Pearce.

“It was just a case of being in the right place at the right time.

“When I looked at the photograph I knew it was a pine marten and thought I had better tell the Wildlife Trust.”

When the photograph was shown to an expert at the Shropshire Wildlife Trust it was confirmed as being a pine marten.

But most importantly this was the first authenticated sighting of this animal in England for more than 100 years.

It also brought a breakthrough for Stuart Edmunds from the Wildlife Trust who has been hoping to be able to authenticate a pine marten sighting for many years.

“There have been many reported sightings but these have always turned out to be cases of mistaken identity where people have actually seen pole cats or even ferrets,” said John Hughes from the trust.

“Stuart has had so many false reports to pine martens over the years that it was a few days before he looked at the photograph taken by Dave Pearce but when he did he was able to confirm the sighting.”

Because of the importance of the sighting The Advertiser has been asked not to disclose the location of the actual sighting but can say that it was in the Clun area.

What is not known is if the animal is a single creature or one of a number that lives in the area. It is also unknown if it came over the border from Wales.

Pine Martens are known to take eggs and were persecuted out of existence in England but they have clung on in Scotland and in small numbers in Wales.

Now the trust is installing ‘camera traps’ in a bid to get images of pine martens to see if there are more.

The spread into Shropshire is put down to a number of factors including the creation of ‘corridors’ of suitable habitat and a more enlightened approach to conservation.

Pine Martens are of a similar size to the domestic cat and the only bird of prey big enough to be a threat to them is the Golden Eagle in Scotland. There have also been reports of them having been ‘taken’ by foxes.

Dave Edmunds said that previous photographs of pine martens in England had been animals that had been escaped domestic pets.