Squirrels with a rubber fetish are the prime suspects after electric wires were chewed through in an Epsom garden last month.

Jo Thomas, 76, of Fairfax Avenue in Epsom, said: “Squirrels cause a lot of damage in the garden.

“We came back from Australia a week ago to find they had chewed through all the electric wires that pump water into the pond in our garden and light the rocks around the pond, as well as the wires leading to the lights we have in our tree.

“We know it would not be foxes because foxes do not chew through wires, but squirrels have nasty little teeth and they do. “They are a menace. We have more trouble with squirrels than we do with foxes.

“We will have to buy new wires again. It is costing us so much money to replace them – we had the same problem before and have already replaced them once.

“We are wondering if there is a deterrent we can put in our garden to stop the squirrels doing this. “We know you can buy extra strong squirrel-proof netting to put over plants, but we do not know if there is anything available for wires.”

Mrs Thomas’s husband, Arnold, 79, said: “They [squirrels] are a pain. They look nice running round parks, but they are a nuisance in the garden.”

But the Epsom Guardian’s nature expert, Tony Drakeford, said the damage could be caused either by squirrels or foxes because both had a “rubber fetish”.

He said: “It is difficult because squirrels love rubber and plastic and do chew through wires.

“There is not much you can do unless you buy metal casing for the wires or place the wires underground, otherwise they will do it again.

“Squirrels could be looking for water. “The drought has affected a lot of animals, but now we have had plenty of rain the situation should have been alleviated.”