A fox napping on the window ledge of a townhouse in London’s posh Notting Hill was “lucky not to be shot”, according to the sister of the city's mayor Boris Johnson.
Rachel Johnson spotted the animal on Wednesday while out and about in her local Notting Hill and captured photos of the cheeky pest, published by the London Evening Standard.
She told the paper: “It must have got up via the scaffolding on the house next door. People were coming out of their houses with telephoto cameras - but luckily no-one decided to shoot it! It was rather a sitting duck there on the ledge.
The fox was pictured casually napping on Wednesday
Johnson lives nearby, while other residents of the street include comedian Ruby Wax.
She continued: “There are lots of them in the neighbourhood, always in the gardens - they seem to own the place. But when I saw this one it was hard to feel the same sense of rage.”
The fox, circled, sat on a ledge of a town house
As Mayor, Boris Johnson has called for hunts to be allowed on London’s streets to curb the problem of urban foxes.
He’s previously said he would have “no hesitation” backing a cull in the capital – suggesting Londoners carry out killings whilst riding bikes.
But it’s not known if Johnson supports shooting as a preferred method of dispatching foxes.