Is this a polecat?

I was driving toward Stafford this morning when I spotted this killed on the roadside. Since the badger encounter last weekend, I seem to be looking all the time for any signs of roadkill that might not be what it seems. I knew that this poor creature had met its demise on the A5 but I had to stop and photograph it, as I was pretty sure it was a polecat. Being a busy main road, with only a small verge, I only took a couple of quick images in the hope that I could get a positive ID.

This creature definitely had the black guard hairs, but the mask was not very prominent.

I have sent the image to the Mammal Society and logged the sighting on The Mammal Society website. Reports of creature such as this will help build up a picture of the population (if one has been killed, there are likely to be more).

Would welcome any opinions on whether this is, in fact a polecat or another hybrid….