STAFF at GlaxoSmithKline have had a smelly encounter with a squashed skunk.

The animal was reported roaming around the Forest last week and had been spotted in gardens in High Nash, Coleford.

Resident Lexi Myers said: "I was watching TV when I caught sight of something through the patio doors. I thought 'that's not a cat...it can't be a skunk...can it?'

"I followed the skunk up the garden with my phone to try to take a picture, but it turned around and hissed at me with its tail standing up, so I backed off.

"It was trying to find a way to the next garden and when it got there, it went for the next door neighbour's cat.

"The next day my partner saw it too. We are sure it was a skunk after we looked it up on the internet.

"It was a very interesting experience. I wonder if it was after our fruit and vegetables as we have a lot growing in the garden."

But earlier this week the skunk met with a sticky end, being squashed on the road outside the Perrygrove Railway.

A Glaxo employee, who did not wish to be named, ran over the already dead skunk on his way to work.

The skunk released a pungent smell which is proving very tough to remove from the car!

No one has claimed the skunk as a missing pet, although they can legally be kept in the UK. The Animal Welfare Act, 2006 made it illegal to remove their scent glands, making them impractical as pets.