MANY consider foxes to be vermin, while others look at them as an important part of British wildlife.

This opposing view is taken by two neighbours in Park North, who are both having increasingly regular encounters with the animals.

Stephen Halden, 64, believes they are a pest who pose a threat to young children and carry disease.

But next-door-neighbour Phil Doore believes the animals are an integral part of the wildlife and people should appreciate them.

“They are wild animals and I think there are a lot more of them now,” said Stephen, of Beaufort Green.

“These animals are a serious danger to adults, children and pets.

“You see stories in the press of foxes hurting and trying to steal babies. I think it is becoming a bigger problem.”

“They can carry and spread disease like distemper.”

He said he would like to see the council do more to tackle the problem before it gets out of control, although he has not called for a mass culling.

He said: “I see several of them every week now and had one running through my garden the other day.

“I would like the council to spend a bit more on pest control against these foxes.”

However, 62-year-old Phil said he enjoys seeing the animals in the area.

“I was brought up on a farm so I enjoy the British wildlife,” he said.

“When I was younger we found three fox cubs abandoned after their mother had been killed during a hunt and I helped to bring them up. People get upset when some animals, like starlings, decline so we should enjoy them.”

Phil says he regularly sees the animals when he is out walking his dog.

He agrees sightings are on the increase, but he feels they are little threat to humans.

“They are timid creatures. Whenever you get anywhere near them they run away. The threat they pose is often hyped up.”

There are currently an estimated 33,000 urban foxes in the UK, which experts say has not changed significantly since the 1980s.

Stephen Davis, the head of conservation policy at the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, said: “Foxes are an intrinsic part of our wildlife.

“When we encroach on their habitat, we put pressure on foxes, and other wildlife, to seek new ways to live alongside us.”

He says people should limit the contact between humans and animals. “The trust does not support the culling of any animal because of inconvenience and would urge people to take steps to live happily alongside our wild neighbours,” he said.

“Each of us can help by not feeding them and ensuring that we dispose of food waste carefully to avoid encouraging foxes into urban areas.”