A RETIRED policeman was left amused after a friendly fox left him and his wife a present in the form of a familiar looking friend.

Pensioner John Bayliss said the usually nocturnal animal has a “good sense of humour” after leaving two toy foxes in his garden in Wolton Road, Colchester.

Mr Bayliss, 84, explained sightings of the fox have been fairly commonplace over years as he’s settling down for the night, but the latest few encounters have left him chuckling.

“It keeps bringing soft toys into our back garden and has tried to bury other items too,” said the retired policeman, who lives in Shrub End.

“What has happened in the past week or so is it has brought in toy foxes, a Gruffalo and a snake – it's clearly got a sense of humour.

“Quite often my wife and I see it before bed and can be woken up in the middle of the night by noises.

“This has been going on for a while and has been a bit of a nuisance what with the animal digging holes in the lawn and knocking stuff over.

“This made us smile though. Everything in this road seems to be linked to the foxes.”

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