A stunned Burnham resident captured a rare sight on camera in the early hours of the morning - an albino badger. 

Badgers, the UK's largest land predator, are well-known for their distinctive black and white stripes. 

But the protected mammal that entered Burnham resident Gurdial Singh's garden a couple of weeks ago looked very different - because it was entirely white. 

Bucks Free Press:

Although it looks more like a mini polar bear, it was displaying typical badger behaviour - snuffling around in the undergrowth. 

Gurdial said the photos were taken at around 2am to 3am. 

True albino badgers are extremely rare – due to a genetic quirk - and completely lack any pigmentation. 

Bucks Free Press:

They should not be confused with erythristic badgers which are paler than a normal badger as they lack black pigmentation and instead have reddish-brown fur.

A rare albino badger was spotted at the National Trust's Cliveden Estate in 2020. 

At the time, Mark Bradshaw, the general manager, told the BBC the unique badger had become a bit of a "local celebrity" during lockdown. 

Bucks Free Press:

He said: "It stuck around for 20 minutes, undeterred by the presence of one of our staff members who managed to capture a few seconds of footage."

It's not clear if this is the same one that was spotted at nearby Cliveden, although badgers have an average lifespan of around five to eight years, so it could well be. 

We've asked Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust for their opinion and we'll update this story when we get their response.