Baby attacked by fox “recovering well”

Monday, February 11, 2013
8:36 AM

A four-week-old baby who was attacked by a fox is “recovering well” in hospital.

Denny Dolan was seriously injured after the fox entered the house in Bromley, south east London, where he lives with his parents, named in reports as Hayley Banks Cawley, 28, and Paul Dolan.

Lorraine Murphy, the child’s aunt, told the Times: “It was so traumatic.

“The family are devastated. I spoke to my brother at the hospital, but he couldn’t even talk. Denny’s lovely - he was a perfect baby.”

She said his mother had gone upstairs when she heard a bang and rushed back down to find the fox dragging the baby towards the door.

A picture posted on Facebook shows Denny with a large cast on his left hand and cuts on his forehead.

Surgeons reportedly had to reattach one the baby’s fingers after the incident on Wednesday. He also had cuts to his face which needed stitches.

A hospital spokeswoman said: “The Evelina Children’s Hospital, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, can confirm that the baby has been moved from the High Dependency Unit to a ward and is recovering well.”

The incident is not the first time foxes have attacked humans, prompting calls for a cull of the urban pests.

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

He said: “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.

“They must come together, study the data, try to understand why this is becoming such a problem and act quickly to sort it out.”

Cass Barrett of London Fox Control said residents should stop putting food out for foxes or leaving rubbish around. He said he often heard of the animals coming through people’s cat flats after being lured by the scent of pet food.

He said: “Foxes coming into people’s houses is nothing new in my experience.

“Foxes are quite accomplished climbers in that a ground floor window I wouldn’t imagine should cause too much of a problem for them to get in.”

He said his company uses humane methods to exterminate foxes it is called out to get rid of.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said the only reason a fox would attack a human is due to fear and it is “extremely unusual” for them to hurt children.