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© Photo: SWNS
Neighbours of a baby boy attacked by a fox in South London say they are afraid to leave the backdoor open after hearing the 'hysterical screams' of the mother who found her mauled child.

The one-month-old baby is recovering in hospital after his finger was torn off by a fox in Bromley, South East London on Wednesday.

An ambulance was called and the baby, who also suffered puncture wounds to his face, was taken to hospital.

Surgeons were able to reattach the severed finger in an operation at St Thomas's Hospital in London.

The baby is said to be making a 'good recovery'.

The mother has been re-housed to another council house and neighbours have spoken of their fear it could happen again.

Paula Wellington, a neighbour, said she had spoken to the mother about her ordeal.

"She said the fox tried to get the baby, the mum was trying to pull the fox from the baby and that was it," said Paula Wellington.

"She said the fox was on the baby and she tried to pull the fox from the baby and the baby was trying to wrestle with her. She was shaking."

Mrs Wellington, a mother-of-four, said the foxes were often seen in the area and the incident made her not want to live there any more.

Neighbours said the family had lived at the address for less than a year and had moved out on Saturday. They also had two older children, a boy and a girl of primary school age.

A child's red pair of shoes and a deflated football remained in the front garden of the end of terrace property.

A woman living next door, who asked not to be named, heard screams.

"It was really awful, just horrifying. I'm still shaking now when I talk about it.

"I heard the mum screaming and shouting and then I heard the baby crying. I ran next door to see what had happened and the mum was hysterical, she could hardly say anything to me.

"But then she kept saying, 'A fox attacked my baby, a fox attacked my baby'.

"It all happened so quickly and then the ambulance came.

"I heard later that his finger had been ripped off. I just hope that little boy gets well soon."

Khadine Peters, 36, who also lives next door, said the neighbourhood are afraid it could happen again.

"I wasn't there at the time, I was walking home down the street when I saw the ambulance outside the house.

"I spoke to the mum and she told me a fox had attacked her baby. It was really bad, I'm so scared now - I definitely won't leave my back door open again.
"Something needs to be done about all these foxes roaming freely around all these homes.

"I always see foxes in the street or in my garden. They're disgusting, they're not cute pets, they're vermin. The council should get rid of them."

Tim Stevens, the councillor at Bromley Council responsible for public protection and safety, told BBC Radio5 Live that they they are looking into a cull.

"There could be a case for a limited cull of foxes," he said.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said all councils should be looking at control measures where foxes have become a threat to the public.

There has been a number of cases of foxes attacking children in recent years. In the most famous case in 2010 Isabella and Lola Koupparis, nine-month-old twins, were mauled by a fox as they slept in their cot in Hackney.

"They may appear cuddly and romantic but foxes are also a pest and a menace, particularly in our cities," he told BBC News.

"This must serve as a wake-up call to London's borough leaders, who are responsible for pest control.

"They must come together, study the data, try to understand why this is becoming such a problem and act quickly to sort it out."

However An RSPCA spokeswoman said the only reason a fox would attack is due to fear.

"It's extremely unusual for foxes to attack young children or anyone," she said.

"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's people around."

A spokesman for Lewisham Council described the attack as "very tragic but rare" and said there were currently no precedures in place to tackle growing fox numbers in the area.

"Our procedure is to offer advice and trying to help people understand foxes will come through their area and what their natural habitat is," he said.

"Obviously that doesn't take away from the terrible things that happen, but it is very rare for a fox to come into a house.

"We will continue to encourage people to realise that keeping gardens and streets free of litter and do all they can to keep that message at the forefront of peoples' minds."