Stripey mouse attack!

Well I knew I had mice, but the ones I've seen up to now were little browny-grey ones - typical house mice, with long, thin tails. I said up to now...

At 6.30 this morning I was woken by a loud thump on the floor above me, and a lot of scrabbling. I climbed up the ladder and looked around with my torch. I could hear lots of noises, but couldn't see anything. Eventually I came back down and then I heard the noises in the room where I am currently sleeping and tracked them down to behind a large cardboard box. As I shone the torch towards it something furry shot across the floor and behind a sewing box in the corner. I shone the torch behind it and there was a mouse-like creature - slightly bigger ears, shorter tail and with brown stripes on its face. It ran across the floor in the direction of the door and I heard more scrabbling behind the cardboard box. As I shone the torch I saw another (or could it have been the same one?) clinging on to the wall behind the box. I got a good look this time before it dashed off into the kitchen. Plump, like a hamster almost, but with that stripey face. I've never seen anything like it before. It didn't seem as scared as the house mouse, either.

A lot of scrabbling went on the kitchen, so I just simply opened the back door in the hope that it would go out, and went back to bed. However, I can hear it now, behind the washing machine, so I guess it prefers it in the house. If only my camera took pictures quickly instead of all that focussing and clicking before the shutter opens. By that time the mouse will be long gone.