Cameras set up in woods near Surbiton station have captured a badger nosing around in two separate sightings in the past fortnight.

A badger sighting was reported to the group the weekend previously, and a camera was then ready to capture the animal on the night of April 2.

Stephanie Clark, vice-chairman, said: “We caught the badger coming out of there so what we think is that there’s a sett and they are using the forest to forage for food.

“It just highlights the importance of these patches of green space. It’s important that these spaces are protected and these spaces are preserved for animals enjoyment as well as ours.”

The group searched for the sett which this badger could be living in and were confident to have done so.

A camera was set up facing the sett and caught a badger, which Surbiton Wildlife Group is confident is the same badger as in the first set of footage, leaving the sett at 9.30pm on April 9, and returning to it hours later at about 5am the following morning.

The end of the footage released by the wildlife group also captured a jay gathering badger fur to use as nesting material.

Surbiton Wildlife Group was set up in May 2015 by Tom Hooker. He said: "The group has just entered its second year and we have lots planned. Aside from continuing to maintain and enhance Claremont Crescent Gardens we are also keen to get involved with other areas such as 'the wood' and also find ways to engage and educate local residents.

"Gardens form a massive percentage of green space so we can all make a big difference by doing small things in our gardens, such as creating hedgehog tunnels to allow them to roam."

Surbiton Wildlife Group were asked to manage the preservation of The Wood, near Oakhill, and put in the cameras to see what wildlife currently lives in the area. A portion of the wooded area is fenced off to include the Richard Jefferies bird sanctuary.

Surbiton Wildlife Group has projects to revitalise Claremont Gardens and to make a count of the local wildlife all ongoing, among others. It has grown to include about 200 members, led by Ms Clark and Mr Hooker.