A WOMAN says a family of foxes visiting her garden daily have outstayed their welcome.

Michelle Fox, 53, lives just off Coombe Road near the Racecourse in Brighton.

Despite sharing the same name as her furry neighbours, their daily visits and damage to her garden over the last three months means she has begun to loathe them.

Since posting about her situation online she has received bizarre advice from strangers on how to prevent the unwanted visitors returning.

The Argus:

She said: “People have said because my surname is Fox, the foxes in my garden ‘come back home to mummy’, which is why they won’t leave. And one person said I would need to change my name in order to stop them coming back, or move house. It has just got a bit ridiculous.

“Someone else said I have ‘stolen’ their green space. It’s no laughing matter, they are completely destroying my garden and it’s gone beyond cute having them in the garden.”

Ms Fox said many people have said she should be grateful and consider herself lucky to have the foxes playing in her garden.

She added: “I have had foxes here for about 15 to 20 years and I do think they are cute, and I never normally have issues with them, but this group of young ones are being particularly destructive.

“This time they really are being a total nightmare. One of them is actually quite abrasive and there is poo all over the garden. I can’t just leave my back door open. My great-nephew, who is only 19 months old, can’t play in the garden at the moment because he picks everything up.

“I know they can be lovely to watch but it’s just gone a bit far and all the damage is getting pretty expensive to repair.

“They have done a lot of damage to the fences and they just sit on all my new flowers and kill them.

“They have also turned to eating shrubs which is irritating. I don’t want them in my garden, not four of them anyway.”

Ms Fox, who is a painter and decorator by trade, asked the RSPCA for guidance.

She said she was told to wait until the foxes decided to move on, or purchase a spray to deter them from coming into the garden.

Roger Musselle from Roger’s Wildlife in Woodingdean, said: “Foxes stick in family units at this time of year because of the young ones, and it would be morally wrong to move them.

“Basically, patience is the answer.”

A spokeswoman for RSPCA said there is information and advice for living alongside foxes on their website which might help for guidance, or the Fox Project website which has details of spray deterrence.