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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| 'Vicious' fox traps eight people in Cambridgeshire sports club | 'Vicious' fox traps eight people in Cambridgeshire sports club |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A "vicious" fox trapped eight people inside a sports club for three hours as it stalked them from the car park. | A "vicious" fox trapped eight people inside a sports club for three hours as it stalked them from the car park. |
| The animal appeared as people were preparing to leave Alconbury Sports and Social Club, Cambridgeshire. | |
| Panic reigned, with a woman being bitten, a man falling off his bicycle as he was chased and a pest controller being pursued back to his car. | Panic reigned, with a woman being bitten, a man falling off his bicycle as he was chased and a pest controller being pursued back to his car. |
| Club chairman Bruce Staines, who was chased around the car park, said he had "never seen anything like it". | Club chairman Bruce Staines, who was chased around the car park, said he had "never seen anything like it". |
| Mr Staines admitted he "tweaked his groin" trying to get away from the marauding animal and back to the safety of the club. | Mr Staines admitted he "tweaked his groin" trying to get away from the marauding animal and back to the safety of the club. |
| "None of us could get out. When we tried to use a side door, the fox heard and came haring round there." | "None of us could get out. When we tried to use a side door, the fox heard and came haring round there." |
| 'Wasn't afraid' | 'Wasn't afraid' |
| A woman who tried to distract the fox with food sustained a bite to her hand. | A woman who tried to distract the fox with food sustained a bite to her hand. |
| A man who tried to outpace the creature on his bicycle was chased into a field and fell off, losing his glasses in the process. | |
| "He had to fend the fox off with his bicycle," Mr Staines said. | "He had to fend the fox off with his bicycle," Mr Staines said. |
| Club members ended up barricaded inside the building, watching the fox on the CCTV system as it stalked outside, at about 22:00 BST on Saturday. | Club members ended up barricaded inside the building, watching the fox on the CCTV system as it stalked outside, at about 22:00 BST on Saturday. |
| The local pest controller was called, but when he tried to approach the animal it "went for him" and chased him back to his car. | The local pest controller was called, but when he tried to approach the animal it "went for him" and chased him back to his car. |
| The fox was eventually caught and destroyed. | The fox was eventually caught and destroyed. |
| The pest controller's view | |
| Graeme Brown, a pest controller for 18 years, was called in to help those trapped inside the club. | |
| "The fox started circling my car as soon as I arrived," he said. | |
| He tried to move it on by stamping his feet, shouting and waving his arms but when it refused to move he was "forced to beat a retreat". | |
| He said he had "never come across such a forward and aggressive fox as this one". | |
| "People who don't know about these animals should not approach them and never feed them. You're asking to be bitten. | |
| "Leaving this fox was not an option. I have no doubt about that," he said. | |
| "It was active in the area of a play park and I would not be prepared to put children at risk." | |
| "Foxes can look very sweet, but as a family-orientated club we had real concerns about this rather vicious animal. We have hundreds of children playing in our leagues here," Mr Staines said. | "Foxes can look very sweet, but as a family-orientated club we had real concerns about this rather vicious animal. We have hundreds of children playing in our leagues here," Mr Staines said. |
| He said the pest controller suggested the fox may have been an urban animal, which somehow found itself in the middle of the countryside. | He said the pest controller suggested the fox may have been an urban animal, which somehow found itself in the middle of the countryside. |
| "That might be why it wasn't at all afraid of humans." | "That might be why it wasn't at all afraid of humans." |
| Neither the Wildlife Trust nor RSPCA was prepared to comment on the behaviour of the fox as their staff had not seen the animal. |