DIAMONDS may be a girl's best friend but, in this part of the country at least, ferrets seem to come a close second.

For according to the first national survey on animals which have been used to hunt rabbits since the Norman conquest, there are not only more pet ferret owners in the South East than anywhere else in the country, but most of them are women.

The survey, by the Ferret Education and Research Trust (FERT), found that 27 per cent of owners live in the South East, four times as many as counties like Yorkshire, where ferrets have traditionally been as much part of life as whippets and flat caps.

And, perhaps inspired by celebrities like Paris Hilton and Madonna, both of whom have pet ferrets, 61 per cent of them are female. Most keep two, although one owner admitted to 160.

"I'm not surprised, because they make very good pets," said Jane Davies of Redpoll Walk, Paddock Wood. "We had a pair for two years, Fred and Ginger, and they were lovely, really affectionate.

"They lived outside, but we let them in with us in the evenings.

"They would run all over the house or sit on our laps, and they liked to curl up to sleep among the dusters under the sink."

Local vets also report the growing popularity of ferrets as pets, many of which are brought in by owners to be neutered.

The most popular varieties are sable, or polecat, ferrets with their distinctive dark masked eyes. Pink-eyed white albinos are also widely-owned, plus the silver variety, once popular with night-time poachers because they showed up in the moonlight.

"They use litter boxes like cats, but you can't let them loose as they don't have a homing instinct," said Mrs Davies.

"But some people buy harnesses and leads so that they can take them for walks, and I once saw a woman shopping in Maidstone with a ferret tucked into her shoulder bag."

However the rise in ferrets' popularity has led to a brisk trade in stolen animals. Ten from a rare breed were recently taken from a Kent back garden, and one local breeder refused to give his name or address for fear of burglars.

For while many are non-working pets, others are still kept for hunting rabbits and also for betting sports like ferret-racing through drainpipes.

For although there are none left in the wild, these popular cuddly pets retain the equipment needed for hunting, including sharp teeth, a natural tendency to dig and a Houdini-like ability to escape. All of which makes the once popular sport of trying to break time records for keeping a ferret down your trousers even harder to comprehend.

FERT is holding its fourth National Ferret Day on May 5 to highlight the needs of domestic ferrets.

Ferrets are domesticated polecats which are related to minks and weasels

With extremely flexible spines and rib cages, they are able to squeeze through very small gaps and turn round in confined spaces

They can sleep for up to 22 hours a day and are active at dawn and dusk, their traditional hunting times

Like skunks, ferrets can let off a powerful smell when frightened or during the mating season to attract females

Most ferrets live between six and 12 years