These pictures capture the moment an intrepid harvest mouse showed off its gymnastic skills while climbing two stalks of wheat.

The tiny animal was forced to do the splits at one point as it balanced between the two plants.

The mouse was then joined by another rodent, and the pair ran up and down the stalks, playing and stopping to nibble on the wheat.

Athletic: This harvest mouse does the splits as it climbs between two ears of wheat

Graphic designer Mark Bridger snapped the extraordinary photographs near Liverpool - despite how quickly the mice were moving.

'They were very fast, we just left them to run around on the wheat,' he said. 'I just tried to keep up and get photos of them doing what they do.

'It's awesome to watch these little fellows running up and down and round and round which they did with ease.

'Sometimes it's just best to watch them and not bother taking their photo.'

Nimble: The mouse moves so fast that photographer Mark Bridger had difficulty snapping the best frames

Snacking: The rodent - joined by another mouse - nibbled on the wheat as it jumped around

The two mice are part of a captive breeding programme, and may eventually be released into the wild.

They are good climbers and also use their long prehensile tails to grasp on to tall grass and help them move around.

Mr Bridger added: 'They were nibbling the wheat as they balanced and were looking for additional sources of food.

Strong: The harvest mouse uses its prehensile tail to grab on to the wheat

Lab: The two mice are part of a breeding programme but may eventually be released into the wild

'The mice have highly prehensile tails, which they use for climbing so they find it easy to balance. They mainly live in between the wheat.'

The harvest mouse, which eats seed, insects, nectar and fruit, is typically found in fields of cereal crops or in reed beds and other tall ground vegetation.