Beside the grave lie gifts, flowers and heartfelt messages, some in verse. A tribute page on the social networking site Facebook has attracted more than 250 members.

And the cause of this remarkable outpouring of grief? Albi the albino squirrel is no more.

Albi, also known as Snowy or Percy, fell foul of a hit-and-run driver outside the churchyard where he used to live and play in Dorking, Surrey.

Dozens of tearful mourners have made the pilgrimage to his grave in a flower bed and turned it into a shrine to their ‘light that has gone out’.

Cards, flowers and bags of nuts surround the small wooden cross which marks the spot where his body lies.

One message reads: ‘Bye my beautiful albino squirrel. Miss you. I will always remember you forever. Rest in peace. Love you.’

Another reads: ‘We can’t believe you’ve gone little friend. ‘Everyone loved to see you running in the churchyard with your fellow

Unfairly Balanced - 12 November 2009 09:04 AM

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A Surrey Police spokesman said they were not looking for anybody in relation to Albi’s death.

I’d be looking…...............................

I wouldn’t.  It’s just a squirrel and the driver that run it over probably didn’t even know he hit it.

I saw an interview of a witness on television yesterday evening.  Her testimony basically went like this:

“I saw him hop out of a flowerbed and start across the road, and then a red Royal Mail car came around the corner and hit him, and that was the end of him.  And then several more cars came, and that really finished him off.”