Downham mother left shaken up after fox bites her baby's finger off

4:35pm Sunday 10th February 2013 in News By Robert Fisk

A ONE-MONTH-OLD child’s mother has been left shaken up after a ‘fox tried to run away with her baby’ from her house in Downham.

The animal tore one of the infant's fingers off after dragging him from his cot after entering his bedroom in Dagonet Road, according to reports.

He was taken to St Thomas’s Hospital where surgeons were able to reattach the baby's finger and he is said to be recovering well.

Next door neighbour Paula Wellington, of Roundtable Road, said: “His mother told me a fox tried to run away with her baby.

“A fox tried to drag the baby away and she was trying to pull it off him.

“She grabbed hold of the fox to get it off the baby.

“When I saw her the next day I knew something was wrong and did not want to ask too many questions so just let her speak.

“She was still shaken up when she was speaking to me.”

The child's mother was alerted by his screaming and rushed into his room to see his hand lodged "halfway down the animal's throat", the Mail on Sunday said.

Her 36-year-old neighbour added: “If it had happened in my house I would not be staying here, I would move.

“I see some foxes here running in the broad daylight and my son saw one running along the back fence like a cat.

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“I think there should be some kind of cull of foxes, there are too many around today.”

Neighbours say the baby’s parents are called Paul and Kylie and he is believed to have an older sibling.

Some reports suggest the fox got in through the back door of the home which was said to be broken.

But Phoenix Community Housing says this had been repaired on January 24.

A spokeswoman from the housing association said: "Firstly, our thoughts are with Ms Cawley and her family at this distressing time.

"We can confirm that repairs were carried out to windows and doors at the property on January 24 2013.

"We did not receive further reports from the family for repairs works at the home after this date.

"We have spoken to the mother and also visited the family to offer support.

"We will continue to be in touch to maintain practical support at this difficult time."

A Met Police spokesman said: "We were called at 4.38pm on Wednesday by staff at St Thomas's Hospital to reports a baby boy who had been admitted to hospital after being attacked by a fox.

"Police attended to find a four-week-old baby with a hand injury.

"The baby was admitted to hospital after the attack at its home address.

"Inquiries continue."

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

She added: "It's extremely unusual for foxes to attack young children or anyone.

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."

London Mayor Boris Johnson said more must be done to tackle the growing problem of urban foxes.

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

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

Mr Johnson also said his thoughts were "with the baby boy and his family".

Do you know the baby or his family? Call the newsroom on 01689 885725 or email rfisk@london.newsquest.co.uk

Comments(44)

Inspirationalady28 says...
4:58pm Sun 10 Feb 13

“His hand lodged halfway down the animals throat”? Do you know how tiny a baby's hand is at 4-weeks old? If a fox had of got hold of that baby it would have included all of its arm to the shoulder, not just a hand!!

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Oldchap says...
5:26pm Sun 10 Feb 13

So as usual we will end up with 2 stories on the same subject

Come on NS, how difficult to just add to original?

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Cllr Colin Smith says...
5:27pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Again, all of our thoughts will I know be with the poor little soul at the centre of this reported incident.

Thank you Newsshopper at least for positively identifying the site of incident which I am advised sits under investigation by Lewisham Police (it being in Lewisham) rather than Bromley.

How long before the national media catch up with this website ?

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Beckenham Chris says...
5:29pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Unusual this ! Lets see what the "enquiries that are continuing" reveal shall we ?
The problem with Urban Foxes is People, who leave rubbish laying about and have pets like rabbits and guinea pigs in cages in gardens.A bit obvious.Foxes are healthier in suburbs because they dont have to hunt for food most of its easy to get hold of.

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Cllr Colin Smith says...
5:39pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Robert

I note the story has also morphed from the couple in question waiting to "the housing association" to fix the door (rather than the Council ) too.

What's that all about please?

Colin

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Inspirationalady28 says...
6:21pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Last thing I read, they have moved out..the house is unoccupied now!!

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toomush2drink says...
6:39pm Sun 10 Feb 13

It wasnt so long ago when i made a comment about attacks becoming more frequent as time goes on bcause of people feeding them etc and the foxes losing thir fear of humans and i was mocked.

So another attack in the news...

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Simon Bull says...
7:09pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Oldchap wrote:
So as usual we will end up with 2 stories on the same subject

Come on NS, how difficult to just add to original?
Sorry Oldchap, but when it's the next day or a story has moved on some, we put up a new instalment of it.

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casper999 says...
7:11pm Sun 10 Feb 13

It was said on the news, that the house had no or part of the back door was missing and was due to be repaired ??,
Also a local said he came home one night at one in morning and there was 25 foxes in the street ?, yes not 1 but 25. Very odd story indeed

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Mr JH says...
8:02pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Cllr Colin Smith wrote:
Again, all of our thoughts will I know be with the poor little soul at the centre of this reported incident.

Thank you Newsshopper at least for positively identifying the site of incident which I am advised sits under investigation by Lewisham Police (it being in Lewisham) rather than Bromley.

How long before the national media catch up with this website ?
The BBC have caught up and are now reporting it as Lewisham:

http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/uk-21399709

SKY & the Standard you expect incorrect reporting, it's their usual style.

Thoughts with the young baby.

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banjo8 says...
8:11pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Not sure what going on with the comments on this site, but they seem to be deleted for no good reason.
All I said was that people were missing the important point, it doesn't matter where this happened.
What's important is that foxes are dangerous vermin that should be controlled. Banning hunting was a big mistake and the number of foxes in town should be kept down by poisoning or shooting, simple as.

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Marty1979 says...
8:27pm Sun 10 Feb 13

casper999 wrote:
It was said on the news, that the house had no or part of the back door was missing and was due to be repaired ??,
Also a local said he came home one night at one in morning and there was 25 foxes in the street ?, yes not 1 but 25. Very odd story indeed
yet the pictures in the daily wail (which they state is the house the attack / attempted abduction happened) shows a door in good repair

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goldenbroomboy says...
8:42pm Sun 10 Feb 13

This is the second time in my life that I agree with Colin Smith.

Dagonet Road is in the Lewisham Borough, I know because my late grandparents lived there. Colin is correct to draw attention to this fact since the implication is that somehow this dreadful incident is something to do with Bromley Council, and it is not.

Hopefully the baby concerned will be left with nothing more than a scar on his hand.

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banjo8 says...
9:30pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Still you bleat on about where the attack was! What's the matter with you. What matters is the fact this is another fox attack case and people still don't accept how dangerous these animals are.

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nearly right all the time says...
9:40pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Lets look at facts
1, "finger TORN off"

The red fox (vulpes vulpes) does not eat LIVE food it eats Carrion (dead or rotting meat) they have developed a taste for "fast food" due to its high
fat content, and easy availbility

2, "the emergency services were called at 4.38pm"

Thats afternoon, people are about!
Foxes like to keep a low profile,
and are mainly nocturnal

3,"had dragged infant from cot"

through the bars,? (infant would have
massive crush injuries to skull and would be in a far worst condition than repoted. Pulled over the top of cot again ,head and shoulder injuries.
Dragged? dislocation of arm , shoulder (infant was only 4 weeks)

4 finger was retrived and reatached,
this surgest a "clean " cut. Where was
finger retrived from? (foxes throat?)

5 are any test being carreid out for rabies? (because if a fox did behave like it was acting outside its know habits)

something about this story does not add up

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treesrgreen says...
10:10pm Sun 10 Feb 13

This story just doesn't add up. The baby lives in Dagonet Road, the next door neighbour lives in a totally different road.

The baby was in its cot, which I presume has high bars at the side to stop it falling out. So the fox climbs/jumps about 4' over the bars, gets the hand in its mouth, lifts the baby back over the bars and out of the cot - all the while only damaging a finger???

Mother tries to pull baby away from fox - every fox I see is absolutely terrified of humans so I hardly imagine the fox will indulge in a game of tug of war with mother.

Is this a case of yet another family jumping on the bandwagon of fox entered our house, tried to kill child blah blah blah. 15 minutes of fame as the newspapers and tv stations are contacted?

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banjo8 says...
10:38pm Sun 10 Feb 13

You're still missing the point and failing to address the very real danger of increasing fox numbers. They are dangerous.

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Marty1979 says...
10:52pm Sun 10 Feb 13

banjo8 wrote:
You're still missing the point and failing to address the very real danger of increasing fox numbers. They are dangerous.
They are no more dangerous than domestic dogs, are you suggesting a canine cull?

The point being made above is the same as a number of people posed on the earlier version - simply things don't add up

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Chrisbitz says...
11:18pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Marty1979 wrote:
banjo8 wrote:
You're still missing the point and failing to address the very real danger of increasing fox numbers. They are dangerous.
They are no more dangerous than domestic dogs, are you suggesting a canine cull?

The point being made above is the same as a number of people posed on the earlier version - simply things don't add up
They are MUCH LESS dangerous than domestic dogs - Dogs attack babies EVERY WEEK! We really ought to be considering culling dogs, not foxes! :-)

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daviduuk says...
12:47am Mon 11 Feb 13

I live in sandpit rd downham there is many more foxes in the area and out and around in back street and parks even in the day time its that there is so many but not much food for them that they hunt for food even in daytime ive live in downham for over 25yrs .. may i also note that Phoenix Community Housing is very bad on getting repairs done i have no fence all fallen down been to Phoenix Community Housing to get it fixed so many times Phoenix Community Housing has i said are so bad in getting repairs done from what i see and told by others who are under Phoenix Community Housing .. i dont make comments but it all comes down to cuts and Phoenix Community Housing not know whats going on or any clue how its got since Phoenix Community Housing took over they gave a good picture at first to get voted in and take over the door not being repaired dont shock me or about the foxes has anyone who lives round here no shock at all

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emzb21 says...
1:13am Mon 11 Feb 13

could it have been a family dog or even the older child ?? as like everyone sayin it just dont add up yes the back door was broken but surly in this weather u do what u can to make sure it shut and if baby was pull out of cot would have so much more wrong with it and must have been crying for a long time to have 4 fingers bitting of and then to find them and they was able to fit them back on couldnt have been that bad ? oh well they get a new place out of it just hope baby does well

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Inspirationalady28 says...
3:00am Mon 11 Feb 13

I can see a Shop-A-Fox campaign coming soon if tales like this carry on...!!

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joertmclark says...
8:19am Mon 11 Feb 13

banjo8 wrote:
You're still missing the point and failing to address the very real danger of increasing fox numbers. They are dangerous.
Looks like someone had childhood nightmares of foxes.....

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Eagles_Man says...
9:12am Mon 11 Feb 13

These two aren't the best adverts for social housing tenants are they?

Reinforcing the Daily Wail stereotype of the feckless, sitting there with a broken door waiting for 'the caancil' - or in this case 'the aaasing' - to fix it, rather than get off their backsides to effect some basic temporary repair. Even without intrusions by 'foxes', it's the middle of winter ffs!

Always someone else's fault.

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Inspirationalady28 says...
10:33am Mon 11 Feb 13

casper999 wrote:
It was said on the news, that the house had no or part of the back door was missing and was due to be repaired ??,
Also a local said he came home one night at one in morning and there was 25 foxes in the street ?, yes not 1 but 25. Very odd story indeed
Maybe the local had one too many at his local..that would explain his findings? Lol

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reasonable75 says...
1:20pm Mon 11 Feb 13

I see the article has been updated:-


Some reports suggest the fox got in through the back door of the home which was said to be broken.

But Phoenix Community Housing says this had been repaired on January 24. "We can confirm that repairs were carried out to windows and doors at the property on January 24 2013.
"We did not receive further reports from the family for repairs works at the home after this date."

And this seems to be confirmed by picture on TV and in the nationals that show all (fairly new) doors & windows in good condition. So how did it get in?

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treesrgreen says...
3:31pm Mon 11 Feb 13

If the baby is any relation to the Denny Dolan I went to school with - and who knows what the inside of a prison looks like - then I wonder if this "fox attack" is being used to cover up something more serious. Just saying.

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Marty1979 says...
5:03pm Mon 11 Feb 13

treesrgreen wrote:
If the baby is any relation to the Denny Dolan I went to school with - and who knows what the inside of a prison looks like - then I wonder if this "fox attack" is being used to cover up something more serious. Just saying.
I'm sure the police will do a full investigation - but wonder if we'll ever find out the full facts

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Marty1979 says...
7:05pm Mon 11 Feb 13

Cllr Colin Smith wrote:
Again, all of our thoughts will I know be with the poor little soul at the centre of this reported incident.

Thank you Newsshopper at least for positively identifying the site of incident which I am advised sits under investigation by Lewisham Police (it being in Lewisham) rather than Bromley.

How long before the national media catch up with this website ?
And the Metro (published this morning) states it happened in Bromley .....

Report this post »

Marty1979 says...
7:10pm Mon 11 Feb 13

Inspirationalady28 wrote:
I can see a Shop-A-Fox campaign coming soon if tales like this carry on...!!
How did you guess - new article to map "attacks"

Report this post »

Marty1979 says...
7:16pm Mon 11 Feb 13

And something else strange, neighbour said

“When I saw her the next day I knew something was wrong and did not want to ask too many questions so just let her speak."

Sorry, if my baby was in hospital then I'd stay with them

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banjo8 says...
7:53pm Mon 11 Feb 13

Might not be that strange, she might have other kids to look after at home. She might have a whole load of them.

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mainman says...
10:33pm Mon 11 Feb 13

toomush2drink wrote:
It wasnt so long ago when i made a comment about attacks becoming more frequent as time goes on bcause of people feeding them etc and the foxes losing thir fear of humans and i was mocked. So another attack in the news...
it seems there are 1 "attack" every 2 years!

Report this post »

mainman says...
10:41pm Mon 11 Feb 13

banjo8 wrote:
Still you bleat on about where the attack was! What's the matter with you. What matters is the fact this is another fox attack case and people still don't accept how dangerous these animals are.
another fox attack!! on average one "attack" every 2 years

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mainman says...
10:43pm Mon 11 Feb 13

Marty1979 wrote:
banjo8 wrote: You're still missing the point and failing to address the very real danger of increasing fox numbers. They are dangerous.
They are no more dangerous than domestic dogs, are you suggesting a canine cull? The point being made above is the same as a number of people posed on the earlier version - simply things don't add up
12,000 dog attacks a year

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banjo8 says...
8:47am Tue 12 Feb 13

If someone chooses to own a dog and it attacks them or their kids then it is their own fault - they chose to have a dog. You're right, there are stacks of dog attacks because of the number of people who choose to own dogs. These people didn't choose to have a fox did they!

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the wall says...
10:10am Tue 12 Feb 13

banjo8 wrote:
If someone chooses to own a dog and it attacks them or their kids then it is their own fault - they chose to have a dog. You're right, there are stacks of dog attacks because of the number of people who choose to own dogs. These people didn't choose to have a fox did they!
Look at it this way:

If someone chooses to leave the back door open and a fox attacks them or their kids then it is their own fault - they chose to have a back door open. You're right, there are stacks of dog attacks because of the number of people who don't know how to train or behave around dogs.

Foxes eat a lot of rats, get rid of the foxes and there will be a sea of rats.

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banjo8 says...
1:02pm Tue 12 Feb 13

I'll get my pipes out and lead the procession - where should we take the rats? New Den?

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the wall says...
1:24pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Yawn!

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banjo8 says...
3:09pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Goodness, the name alone has you nodding off.

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reptiles says...
9:17am Wed 13 Feb 13

god just read this and this is story number 3 at least in the NS same sort of story but different accounts

"We have spoken to the mother and also visited the family to offer support. "
So what support are they going to give the mother??

god no wonder people get confused when the stories in either the NS or other media are sodifferent!

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banjo8 says...
1:30pm Wed 13 Feb 13

I think it might be story number 4 - youd think theyd put them altogether.

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TIGGY-LEWISHAM says...
2:39pm Wed 13 Feb 13

weird story... police must think so too...

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banjo8 says...
7:22pm Wed 13 Feb 13

I don't think the police are pursuing it.

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