Month-old baby attacked by fox while sleeping

Police are now running an investigation after reports that a one-month-old baby was attacked by a fox in his home in Bromley, south-east London on Wednesday afternoon.

The mother ran into her baby’s room after she heard a “piercing scream then a heavy thud” and got in there to find her child’s hand lodged “halfway down the foxes throat.”

The animal is believed to have gained access to the house through a broken, open door that was waiting to be repaired by the council. The boy’s mother launched an attack on the animal, kicking it in the side until it released the young victim’s hand.

The mother then rushed the boy to the hospital, at which point his finger had gone cold and turned blue. Thankfully, after a three-hour operation the finger was successfully reattached and he is now “recovering well”.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has come out to say that his “thoughts are with the family”; he went on to add that this shocking incident should appear as a wake-up call to councils across the country because, “they may appear cuddly and romantic but foxes are also a pest and a menace, particularly in our cities”.

Mr Johnson added: “They must come together, study the data, try to understand why this is becoming such a problem and act quickly to sort it out.”

An RSPCA spokeswoman has issued a statement so to ensure that unnecessary panic does not take place. She said that such attacks were “extremely unusual,” adding: “It’s not typical fox behaviour at all. Foxes will come closer to a house if there are food sources. Then they can become quite bold, but they usually do back off and run away when there are people around.”

Ali Kirkby