Sex and Violence in Seaside Town.

It was around this time last year that my girlfriend spotted a pair of ginger ears and a whiskery nose amongst the foliage of ‘next doors’ adjoining garden. A local fox was sunning himself, safe from local dogs and wild children that inhabit most other grounds. Thus began a playful friendship that lasted many months and has continued with the various foxes that have come to visit since. Some would walk home with us, others would hunt out the remains of a pizza they’d picked up the sent of , or simply sit on the wall watching the cars go by. Every visit was different and special. More recently their presence has been marked by the removal of a large stone barricade I erected in a hole under the fence at the bottom of the garden. It would seem you can not hold back the tide, not that I really wanted to keep them out, it was merely sport.

It appears, however, that others experiences of these animals are quite contrary to my own and that they are the cause of much concern and even terror - so the Leigh Times would have me believe…

Foxes cause concern in Leigh

A Leigh woman has expressed her concern about the number of urban foxes now running wild in the centre of Leigh. This is after her pet rabbit was killed by one. “I am quite happy to recycle but we need to do it in a more logistical manner where we are not encouraging foxes in to our community. I am sure I am not the only member of the community who has lost a beloved pet or is fed up of being terrorised by these animals in their own community.”

Miss B. Habib makes an interesting point regarding recycling. In Leigh we have blue plastic food waste boxes that are meant to be fox proof, however Leigh foxes are cunning indeed and have passed on the secret to unlocking them during moonlit meetings on the banks of the Estuary. Her calls for large wheelie bins cruelly mocked. There is no doubt in her mind that these animals are organised .

As for the fox problem Miss Habib says that she has heard of a number of incidents recently. She explained: “My housemate had to wait in her car for ten minutes on Monday evening because two foxes were circling her car and she was too afraid to get out of the car for fear of being attacked. A friend who lives off the Broadway had to shoo away four foxes who were mating in the front of her garden. Enough is enough“.