Call for Crayford foxhunt after tradesman's Ford Transit wires chewed three times

2:16pm Monday 22nd October 2012 in News By Tim MacFarlan, Bexley and north Kent reporter

Kevin May in Crayford with his Ford Transit and wiring chewed by foxes. Kevin May in Crayford with his Ford Transit and wiring chewed by foxes.

A CRAYFORD tradesman wants to start a fox hunt after his new van was vandalised three times by the bushy-tailed beasts.

Kevin May, 61, leased his latest model Ford Transit in August but by September 16 warning lights were flashing all over the dashboard, forcing him to take the silver vehicle in for a service at SMC Ford in Crayford.

The heating engineer was told wires on the underside of his van had been chewed by foxes in what is apparently a common problem for transits, costing him the uncommon sum of more than £470 to fix.

The Hurst Road resident said: "Foxes are everywhere, you just can't stop them really.

"I was trying to arrange a hunt in Hurst Road but that wouldn't go down well with the neighbours"

When asked if he was in favour of hunting after being outfoxed by the urban variety of the red vermin, Mr May said: "I definitely am, tally ho!

"Could I see myself on a horse? Yes, as long as it's a small one."

He has since been back to the garage with his van after it was chewed  twice more, with SMC agreeing to pay for the damage the second time but not after the latest foxy attack.

Mr May added: "The receptionist told me 'you are not the first and you won't be the last'.

"Personally I think they have been putting chicken grease on it the way it has happened three times."

He plans to encase the open wiring in chicken wire next time it is fixed.

The van still runs but Mr May claims eager fox teeth have stopped the ABS brakes, cruise control and hill start functions from working.

Has your van been nibbled by naughty foxes? Would you like to see them hunted? Ring 01689 885702, e-mail tim.macfarlan@london.newsquest.co.uk or tweet @NewsShopperTim

Comments(24)

Outandabout says...
2:27pm Mon 22 Oct 12

Foxhunts are 'sports'. The owners of the hunts actually help breed the foxes for their 'sport' by slaughtering Deer and other animals so that the family of Foxes can breed and provide suitably well fed and healthy prey. Foxes are territorial so if you hunt it, kill it or trap it another fox will take it's place once it is gone. No idea what to suggest to procect the vans.They are annoying animals and have in the past circumvented my obstacles and still manage to kill one of my chickens.

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Outandabout says...
2:30pm Mon 22 Oct 12

and, as for 'encasing the wire in Chicken wire......it is called 'Chicken wire' for a reason. Chickens are thick and will not escape. Foxes chew through chicken wire. You need something that they can't chew through!

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patwoodhouse says...
2:44pm Mon 22 Oct 12

Suggest parking the van in a garage - either his own or a rented one? Still has to be cheaper than the cost of regular repairs.

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the wall says...
4:38pm Mon 22 Oct 12

ABS breaks - Brakes.

Adaptaflex Steel Conduit might do the trick.

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Gypo.Joe says...
7:01pm Mon 22 Oct 12

Foxes what a load of bollix. More like rats or mice. My old lady had the same thing on her Merc. It was mice.

Ya idjuts.

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american football says...
10:04am Tue 23 Oct 12

the wall wrote:
ABS breaks - Brakes. Adaptaflex Steel Conduit might do the trick.
what fixing steel conduit to the underside of a van? not allowed ,you could easily rupture the fuel tank like that lol

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american football says...
10:05am Tue 23 Oct 12

Gypo.Joe wrote:
Foxes what a load of bollix. More like rats or mice. My old lady had the same thing on her Merc. It was mice. Ya idjuts.
rats or mice on their hind legs chewing pipes about a foot from the ground ,lol

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the wall says...
10:28am Tue 23 Oct 12

american football wrote:
the wall wrote: ABS breaks - Brakes. Adaptaflex Steel Conduit might do the trick.
what fixing steel conduit to the underside of a van? not allowed ,you could easily rupture the fuel tank like that lol
What are you going on about?

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papaleigh says...
10:41am Tue 23 Oct 12

the wall wrote:
american football wrote:
the wall wrote: ABS breaks - Brakes. Adaptaflex Steel Conduit might do the trick.
what fixing steel conduit to the underside of a van? not allowed ,you could easily rupture the fuel tank like that lol
What are you going on about?
ist if you wanted to install steel conduit you would need to disconect ist all the cables then thread them through the steel conduit and reconect them up.. not easy, and very costly excercise 2nd i checked with fords customer services you are not allowed to install any steel conduit at all.. not allowed in any shape of form ridiculous comment because fords would have done this when they built the van in the ist place if they thought it was required.. steel conduit cant be stuck to the underside of the vehicle it has to be drilled and fixed with brackets to secure it.. you are simply not allowed to go drilling the underside of a vehicle in some do-it-your-self exercise.. some people do not engage their brain ist before submitting their comments!!!

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Gypo.Joe says...
11:02am Tue 23 Oct 12

american football wrote:
Gypo.Joe wrote:
Foxes what a load of bollix. More like rats or mice. My old lady had the same thing on her Merc. It was mice. Ya idjuts.
rats or mice on their hind legs chewing pipes about a foot from the ground ,lol
Got yet ANOTHER sockpuppet account have we Billy Sollicks.

Run along now there's a fat fool that you are.

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the wall says...
11:06am Tue 23 Oct 12

papaleigh wrote:
the wall wrote:
american football wrote:
the wall wrote: ABS breaks - Brakes. Adaptaflex Steel Conduit might do the trick.
what fixing steel conduit to the underside of a van? not allowed ,you could easily rupture the fuel tank like that lol
What are you going on about?
ist if you wanted to install steel conduit you would need to disconect ist all the cables then thread them through the steel conduit and reconect them up.. not easy, and very costly excercise 2nd i checked with fords customer services you are not allowed to install any steel conduit at all.. not allowed in any shape of form ridiculous comment because fords would have done this when they built the van in the ist place if they thought it was required.. steel conduit cant be stuck to the underside of the vehicle it has to be drilled and fixed with brackets to secure it.. you are simply not allowed to go drilling the underside of a vehicle in some do-it-your-self exercise.. some people do not engage their brain ist before submitting their comments!!!
Thanks for the info.

You really think Fords would have fitted something like that ? Instead of the extra money Fords could make on parts and labour? Also this van is leased. If it's your own van then there is not much to stop you.

On one of my classic cars I have braided hoses. I fitted these myself as they last longer and the brake hoses don't flex so much under heavy braking. These were around around when the car was made, however the makers knew they could save and make money on the standard hoses.

Some people do not engage their brain ist before submitting their comments!!! and some people have no understanding of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

ist - 1st for example.
.

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the wall says...
11:14am Tue 23 Oct 12

I can't see why some type of trunking / conduit can not be fitted and then taken to VOSA for an IVA test. You could even ring them for advice.

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Hk says...
11:30am Tue 23 Oct 12

Dont believe for one minute it is foxes. Why is it they always get the blame and why on earth is a foxhunt needed. Its a cruel cruel sport. This man says he was told it was done by foxes. How can anyone say 100% its caused by foxes unless they see them doing it. Absolutely ridiculous.

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Oldchap says...
10:18pm Tue 23 Oct 12

Why is it a common problem on Transits? Are they specially flavoured, or don't foxes go for VW / Vauxhall / Nissan etc etc ?

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ron,,1952 says...
9:22am Thu 25 Oct 12

"one of my classic cars" whats that code for "banger" lol mf

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Shower Head says...
10:04am Thu 25 Oct 12

Using steel conduit on the underside of a van? haha you've ov never been involved in the building/sparks game mate the underside of any car or van is NOT flat its a joke to suggest doing that!there's a lot of trades who read NS and leave comments haha best joke i seen for a while to beat fox chewing thru a few wires steel conduit? haha!

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born n breed says...
11:48am Thu 25 Oct 12

Shower Head wrote:
Using steel conduit on the underside of a van? haha you've ov never been involved in the building/sparks game mate the underside of any car or van is NOT flat its a joke to suggest doing that!there's a lot of trades who read NS and leave comments haha best joke i seen for a while to beat fox chewing thru a few wires steel conduit? haha!
HA HA jokes on you. Adaptaflex Steel Conduit clues in the name pal AdaptaFLEX.

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Guess who ;) AGAIN ! says...
12:21pm Thu 25 Oct 12

Shower Head u got the CCTV in there boi.

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the wall says...
12:39pm Thu 25 Oct 12

Shower Head wrote:
Using steel conduit on the underside of a van? haha you've ov never been involved in the building/sparks game mate the underside of any car or van is NOT flat its a joke to suggest doing that!there's a lot of trades who read NS and leave comments haha best joke i seen for a while to beat fox chewing thru a few wires steel conduit? haha!
Have you never heard of braided hoses!

Used on many cars.

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the wall says...
12:46pm Thu 25 Oct 12

100 Series stainless steel braided hose -4 to -20:
100 Series Uses: Fuel Systems, Coolant Systems & Oil Pressure Systems. Compatibility: Methanol, Water, Oil & Unleaded Fuel.

So you can use this with fuel then you can run a few wires down it to. As the the wires and only exposed in a few places you will not need miles of it.

Do you want a link to the website?

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bible scoffer says...
9:54am Fri 26 Oct 12

...i see 'the wall' is getting torn a new one on this thread!! rofl!!

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the wall says...
12:38pm Fri 26 Oct 12

bible scoffer wrote:
...i see 'the wall' is getting torn a new one on this thread!! rofl!!
How do you work that out ?

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Guess who ;) AGAIN ! says...
10:25am Mon 29 Oct 12

Karl loves the phrase 'ripped a new one', thats because Erastus was always ripping him a new one.


Karl who lets the doogs go ? Bolton another sheet house, anything to get outa dah Palace though.

I'm Spartacus.

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charity begins at home says...
9:27am Sat 3 Nov 12

Regarding these foxes and this guys transit i had something of the same nature about 10 years ago, they chewed my front mud flaps off and even had a go at the new tyre i had just had fitted, ended up putting flower pots filled with sand around the motor and added fox repellant it seemed to do the trick, but have been told this sort of stuff only happens around mating time.........

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