Littlehampton woman moves house after foxes terrorise her home (From The Argus)
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Littlehampton woman moves house after foxes terrorise her home
1:50pm Sunday 17th February 2013 in News
Littlehampton woman moves house after foxes terrorise her
A disabled pensioner in Littlehampton said she is being forced to put her home on the market after a council refused to help her tackle the wild foxes who have been terrorising her home.
Barbara Huggins, 65, of White Horses Way, has been living in fear since she witnessed foxes kill a cat in her back garden two months ago.
She says the fearless creatures wander the streets in broad daylight, and she is now too fright- ened to let her beloved two-year-old Chihuahua outside.
She said: “Alfie is the only family I have left. He is my life and soul. I can’t sleep because I’m terrified that the foxes will kill him.”
The desperate homeowner claims the foxes have caused extensive damage to her bungalow, wrecking her garden and even getting onto her roof.
She described one occasion when the wily creatures crept into her dining room after she left the back door open.
She added: “There was blood up the walls and it stank.”
Fears for safety It is unclear where the foxes are coming from, but Barbara believes that the animals are drawn by rubbish left on an abandoned path at the bottom of her garden.
Arun District Council has been unable to confirm who is responsible for the path, but she claims to have spoken to at least 25 neighbouring households who have been affected by the problem.
These include a family who are concerned for the safety of their young child.
Anxious for help, she appealed to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Arun District Council, but was informed by the local authority that there was nothing they could do.
The council’s website confirms that it is unable to assist residents with foxes, but urges people not to encourage them with food or unsecured rubbish.
But for Barbara mere advice is not enough.
One company said it would cost £200 to have the foxes relocated, but she lives alone and this is more than she can afford.
Despite living on White Horses Way less than a year, she now feels that she has no option but to put the property back on the market.
She said: “I’ve tried everything but I don’t know what else to do.
“I don’t want to sell my bungalow but if that’s what it takes then that’s what I have to do.”
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Comments(40)
Maxwell's Ghost
says...
2:06pm Sun 17 Feb 13
Wherever she moves there will be foxes.
plantwoman
says...
2:24pm Sun 17 Feb 13
mimseycal
says...
2:37pm Sun 17 Feb 13
Man With No Name
says...
2:41pm Sun 17 Feb 13
mimseycal
says...
2:58pm Sun 17 Feb 13
MIDNIGHT COWBOY
says...
2:59pm Sun 17 Feb 13
voiceofthescoombe
says...
3:33pm Sun 17 Feb 13
Or a shotgun.
Chicken in garden fox comes in bang repeat till no mores foxes
mimseycal
says...
3:59pm Sun 17 Feb 13
voiceofthescoombe wrote:Till you discover that what you actually shot was next doors' tortoiseshell cat ...
You can get a silenced .22 rifle for less than that.
Or a shotgun.
Chicken in garden fox comes in bang repeat till no mores foxes
paul76
says...
4:14pm Sun 17 Feb 13
fredaj
says...
4:31pm Sun 17 Feb 13
Do they think we are all stupid?
lordenglandofsussex
says...
4:32pm Sun 17 Feb 13
voiceofthescoombe wrote:Quite right. A good blast of a 22. or high powered air rifle will do the trick.
You can get a silenced .22 rifle for less than that.
Or a shotgun.
Chicken in garden fox comes in bang repeat till no mores foxes
British Foxes have no natural predator anymore and their numbers need to be culled nationally by professional trappers but of course this 'pink' government only listens to the Marxist scum who think otherwise.
nosolution
says...
4:37pm Sun 17 Feb 13
In the sticks
says...
4:38pm Sun 17 Feb 13
So you need to find someone with a firearms or shotgun licence to do it for you. And if it's a firearms licence, the police have to have approved the calibre of your weapon for shooting foxes. And you have to have vermin listed on your licence as a use for that weapon. Not all constabularies approve .22 for killing foxes.
Number Six
says...
4:40pm Sun 17 Feb 13
fredaj wrote:Sorry but where does the article mention hunting? Or are there crowds of scarlet jacketed huntsmen galloping down Littlehampton High Street blasting out "D' ye ken John Peel"
Another faked up story from the pro-hunting lobby.
Do they think we are all stupid?
Nathan AdIer
says...
4:58pm Sun 17 Feb 13
Get some wolf poo and urine (you can buy this from zoos) and smear it around your garden. Not as smelly as you think.
The little poor fox will come in the garden sniff the wolf poo and think "Holy Mother of God, that is some big bad fox"
He will leave and not return.
You can also buy lion and tiger poo and this works for the same for cats.
Whilst i feel for the old girl (if this is genuine), the little fox should not be shot, or worst still, be hunted by a load of ho-rah henrys with silly red jackets!
PorkBoat
says...
5:03pm Sun 17 Feb 13
dawind
says...
5:08pm Sun 17 Feb 13
006 and a third
says...
5:16pm Sun 17 Feb 13
lordenglandofsussex wrote:Nurse, nurse, NURSE...he's awake again
voiceofthescoombe wrote:Quite right. A good blast of a 22. or high powered air rifle will do the trick.
You can get a silenced .22 rifle for less than that.
Or a shotgun.
Chicken in garden fox comes in bang repeat till no mores foxes
British Foxes have no natural predator anymore and their numbers need to be culled nationally by professional trappers but of course this 'pink' government only listens to the Marxist scum who think otherwise.
Serf
says...
6:38pm Sun 17 Feb 13
Nathan AdIer wrote:You do not need wolf doings. An old countryman's trick is to urinate at various places around the border of your garden. This works very well. If you follow my advice on this, please do it in the dark at night. It is then less likely to upset your neighbours.
Foxs are the same make as wolves and dogs.
Get some wolf poo and urine (you can buy this from zoos) and smear it around your garden. Not as smelly as you think.
The little poor fox will come in the garden sniff the wolf poo and think "Holy Mother of God, that is some big bad fox"
He will leave and not return.
You can also buy lion and tiger poo and this works for the same for cats.
Whilst i feel for the old girl (if this is genuine), the little fox should not be shot, or worst still, be hunted by a load of ho-rah henrys with silly red jackets!
Serf
says...
6:46pm Sun 17 Feb 13
mimseycal wrote:Relocate to where ? If capture an urban fox and release it into the countryside, it will starve. Urban foxes survive by scavenging in heavily populated areas. They do not know how to hunt. Transporting them from town to countryside is cruel.
If the problem is indeed acute, something I personally doubt, then you could club together with those 25 other households affected you spoke to and raise the £200.- to relocate the foxes. Less then a tenner a household and problem solved!
mimseycal
says...
7:07pm Sun 17 Feb 13
jackie1959
says...
7:36pm Sun 17 Feb 13
rderers,pedophiles.L
eave the foxes alone,and put your rubbish in the bin,where it belongs!
whatmost of us think
says...
11:24pm Sun 17 Feb 13
SDK
says...
11:45pm Sun 17 Feb 13
mimseycal wrote:I could not agree more. There is apparently more chance of being struck by lightning than of being hurt by a fox.
Sounds as if we need to stop viewing every sighting of wild animals surviving as best they can in this concrete jungle as a cause for hysteria.
For my part, living in Central Hove, I often meet them and it is always a delight. My last two encounters were marvellous.
On my way home from a local pub I saw one on the opposite side of Church Road trying to cross between the traffic. He sat down to wait and when the road was clear I just whistled as if he were a dog. He happily trotted across the road and then walked at a respectful distance behind me until I got home. He then wandered off without causing any problems at all.
Last time, I was walking out for a meeting and saw a man walking down the road with some shopping. I thought that his dog was in front of him but it was a fox who reached me, stopped and, when I leaned over to look at him, stared me firmly in the eye for a few minutes and walked away. It was a lovely experience.
We need to stop demonising these creatures. They are beautiful and show amazing ability to survive in an environment which ought strictly to be hostile to them. As far as I can see, the only hostility they really face is from us.
jackie1959
says...
11:55pm Sun 17 Feb 13
SDK wrote:What a lovely story!
mimseycal wrote:I could not agree more. There is apparently more chance of being struck by lightning than of being hurt by a fox.
Sounds as if we need to stop viewing every sighting of wild animals surviving as best they can in this concrete jungle as a cause for hysteria.
For my part, living in Central Hove, I often meet them and it is always a delight. My last two encounters were marvellous.
On my way home from a local pub I saw one on the opposite side of Church Road trying to cross between the traffic. He sat down to wait and when the road was clear I just whistled as if he were a dog. He happily trotted across the road and then walked at a respectful distance behind me until I got home. He then wandered off without causing any problems at all.
Last time, I was walking out for a meeting and saw a man walking down the road with some shopping. I thought that his dog was in front of him but it was a fox who reached me, stopped and, when I leaned over to look at him, stared me firmly in the eye for a few minutes and walked away. It was a lovely experience.
We need to stop demonising these creatures. They are beautiful and show amazing ability to survive in an environment which ought strictly to be hostile to them. As far as I can see, the only hostility they really face is from us.
runnergirl
says...
9:33am Mon 18 Feb 13
Juleyanne
says...
9:44am Mon 18 Feb 13
unworkable knee jerk reaction. Humans have lived alongside wildlife for as long as the beginning of time and with a bit of intelligence and respect for our wild friends, we can continue to share this planet peacefully and in harmony with nature.
whereisthe...?
says...
11:08am Mon 18 Feb 13
Seems to be a proportion of women who are molly-coddled drama queens. (Not implying at all that this is such a case here though)
mimseycal
says...
11:46am Mon 18 Feb 13
whereisthe...? wrote:Nope ... just men taking snapshots of brazen foxes who dare invade their kitchens and pose on the AGA.
Has anyone actually come across a man also acting so hysterically in response to a fox??
Seems to be a proportion of women who are molly-coddled drama queens. (Not implying at all that this is such a case here though)
plantwoman
says...
11:53am Mon 18 Feb 13
jackie1959 wrote:No problem at all for foxes to get on the roof - ours get up on the garage from the patio and then a quick hop up to the roof of our bungalow. Easy, peasy!
What a load of dribble,foxes on bungalow roof?? What's it do,climb up the drainpipe! We have a lot of foxes where we live,and not one has attempted to go for my dog or cat.all of a sudden it's kill all foxes,after that baby was supposedly dragged out of its cot,and virtually dragged outside and badly mauled...more dribble! I can think of a lot more things that need to be culled,ie,rapists,mu
rderers,pedophiles.L
eave the foxes alone,and put your rubbish in the bin,where it belongs!
We don't mind them at all.
qm
says...
12:31pm Mon 18 Feb 13
runnergirl
says...
1:30pm Mon 18 Feb 13
qm wrote:Personally I think it's massively insulting to call a 64-year-old elderly, especially when so many people live to be 100 these days. Please understand, the media hype up this sort of non-story, and if you want to point a finger of blame at anyone, do it at lazy journalists who - frankly - set up members of the public to be openly ridiculed. Sadly this case is no exception.
Such a load of absolute rubbish comments on this article. People, there's an elderly lady who is obviously a townie (nothing wrong with that!) and she is frightened by something she is afraid of, rightly or wrongly. Her fear is real, the substance behind it may be otherwise but she is afraid and all some of you can do is propagate puerile comments not even fit for the playground of an infant school. She needs support, not ridicule!
qm
says...
1:45pm Mon 18 Feb 13
runnergirl wrote:I am older than she is and am not old, but not young either so no insult implied or intended. My issue is not with the article, it is with the childish dispassionate comments from reprobates regarding someone who is fearful and alone with those fears and who could do with reassurance and perhaps some help from her local community, or is that a complete thing of the past?
qm wrote:Personally I think it's massively insulting to call a 64-year-old elderly, especially when so many people live to be 100 these days. Please understand, the media hype up this sort of non-story, and if you want to point a finger of blame at anyone, do it at lazy journalists who - frankly - set up members of the public to be openly ridiculed. Sadly this case is no exception.
Such a load of absolute rubbish comments on this article. People, there's an elderly lady who is obviously a townie (nothing wrong with that!) and she is frightened by something she is afraid of, rightly or wrongly. Her fear is real, the substance behind it may be otherwise but she is afraid and all some of you can do is propagate puerile comments not even fit for the playground of an infant school. She needs support, not ridicule!
Weirdorama
says...
3:38pm Mon 18 Feb 13
Some bolt, some run along side me for a while, all have resisted the urge to drag me into a bush to savage me.
I hope the constant negative articles will not demoralise the fox community.
Andy R
says...
4:38pm Mon 18 Feb 13
So either this person is extremely naive, or this isn't all it seems.........
runnergirl
says...
5:07pm Mon 18 Feb 13
qm wrote:I take your point, and I wouldn't want to upset someone already said to be distressed, whatever age they are. So many newspapers set out to sensationalise non-events like this that almost inevitably the criticisms come down on the heads of the people at the centre of the story, and the Argus should take some responsibility for it. In the interests of 'balance' readers are more likely to feel sympathy for the fox and not the householder!
runnergirl wrote:I am older than she is and am not old, but not young either so no insult implied or intended. My issue is not with the article, it is with the childish dispassionate comments from reprobates regarding someone who is fearful and alone with those fears and who could do with reassurance and perhaps some help from her local community, or is that a complete thing of the past?
qm wrote:Personally I think it's massively insulting to call a 64-year-old elderly, especially when so many people live to be 100 these days. Please understand, the media hype up this sort of non-story, and if you want to point a finger of blame at anyone, do it at lazy journalists who - frankly - set up members of the public to be openly ridiculed. Sadly this case is no exception.
Such a load of absolute rubbish comments on this article. People, there's an elderly lady who is obviously a townie (nothing wrong with that!) and she is frightened by something she is afraid of, rightly or wrongly. Her fear is real, the substance behind it may be otherwise but she is afraid and all some of you can do is propagate puerile comments not even fit for the playground of an infant school. She needs support, not ridicule!
jamus77
says...
5:18pm Mon 18 Feb 13
qm
says...
7:47pm Mon 18 Feb 13
mimseycal wrote:ouchie ;)
whereisthe...? wrote:Nope ... just men taking snapshots of brazen foxes who dare invade their kitchens and pose on the AGA.
Has anyone actually come across a man also acting so hysterically in response to a fox??
Seems to be a proportion of women who are molly-coddled drama queens. (Not implying at all that this is such a case here though)
thevoiceoftruth
says...
8:08pm Mon 18 Feb 13
006 and a third wrote:Thank you for making me laugh out loud!
lordenglandofsussex wrote:Nurse, nurse, NURSE...he's awake again
voiceofthescoombe wrote:Quite right. A good blast of a 22. or high powered air rifle will do the trick.
You can get a silenced .22 rifle for less than that.
Or a shotgun.
Chicken in garden fox comes in bang repeat till no mores foxes
British Foxes have no natural predator anymore and their numbers need to be culled nationally by professional trappers but of course this 'pink' government only listens to the Marxist scum who think otherwise.
mimseycal says...
2:03pm Sun 17 Feb 13