I'M READY FOR MY CLOSE UP NOW, MR NUTKIN

Red squirrels are well known for their intelligence and curiosity but when one snapper caught this furry little guy trying to take his own self-portrait he couldn't help but be taken aback. Professional wildlife photographer Simon Philpotts had only turned his back for a moment during a session spent snapping a new colony of red squirrels near his home in Wensleydale, North Yorks. But as he headed into a nearby hide to set up some equipment, he spotted one furry-tailed photographer commandeering his camera. After climbing up the tripod and sniffing about the rig, Simon captured the sneaky scamp seemingly attempting to take a picture of himself - placing his foot on the shutter release and sticking his nose into the lens. Simon, 38, said: "We are getting a lot of squirrels at the moment and they are very curious. This little one decided to climb up my tripod and basically try and take my camera apart. At one point it looked like he was trying to take a self portrait.

Other great stories
MINI-CANE GUIDES BLIND LEXI

A BLIND school-girl whose growth has been stunted by a rare medical condition is finding her feet again with the help of a specially made mini-cane .

ADORABLE SQUIRREL GETS READY FOR A SNOWBALL FIGHT

ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .

HOUNDTON TABBY

FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .

SOUTHERN CROSSED AURORA

YOU’VE heard of the northern lights now feast your eyes on the natural wonder of the SOUTHERN lights .

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE A PERVERT who sexually assaulted two young girls on an allotment, telling them he was brushing spiders off them, has walked free from court – because jailing him was ‘unfair’ on his family .

ABANDONED CARE HOME LIES FORGOTTEN

BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .

LIFE ON THE LINE: SLUM LIES NEXT TO ACTIVE RAILWAY

Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .

FROM KEBAB TO KE-BABE: WOMAN DROPS 13ST AFTER FOOD ATTACK

A woman has lost an incredible 13st after a group of men cruelly threw a kebab at her as she walked down the street .

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BUG KIND

THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .

WIDOW AWARDED £300K AFTER EX CONNED HER OUT OF THOUSANDS

A widow whose love rat ex-boyfriend left her homeless has had the last laugh after a judge ordered her ex to pay back £300,000 .

WOOLWICH MURDER OF BRITISH SOLDIER

Soldiers standing guard outside the Woolwich barracks in London - Two terror suspects are under armed guard in separate hospitals in London after a serving soldier was hacked to death in the street .

WOMAN REVEALS HORRIFIC INJURIES AFTER JEALOUS EX BASHED HER SKULL WITH A BRICK AFTER FOLLOWING HER HOME- HE WAS CAUGHT ON RING DOORBELL CAM, COVERED IN HER BLOOD

A woman has released pictures of the horrific injuries she suffered when her jealous ex attacked her with a brick .