It took three hours to clean up the mess
A woman was left shocked after a fox crept into her family home, trashed the kitchen, took a rest on the countertop and then refused to leave.
Emma Slade had left the door open in the early hours to let her dog into the garden.
The 39-year-old heard banging through the night and thought it was her daughter returning home, but was confused when she found the kitchen covered in rubbish the next morning.
The mum-of-three discovered the bins were toppled over, the laundry was on the floor, and there was a pile poo.
The cleaner was ready to blame the dog until she spotted a cheeky fox was the culprit - and was calmly curled up on the counter top, in Canvey Island, Essex.
It took three hours to clean up the mess after her daughter's boyfriend, Mason, bravely picked up the fox and carried it outside, last Friday.
Emma said: "Next time I hear banging in the night I might get up and check!
"I thought it was my daughter and her boyfriend coming in, but it was actually a fox!
"I was quite scared at first, but it didn't even flinch or want to move at all.
"The door was closed when I came down in the morning so it must have blown closed in the night and the fox had gotten stuck."
Unfortunately for Emma, in a probable attempt to escape, the fox had trashed most of her kitchen.
She said: "There was no real damage but all the washing was on the floor, bins on the floor and a lot of poo!
"There were flowers all over the sofa. It took three hours to clean up everything.
"I'm not the biggest fan of foxes as the night I moved in my rabbit was eaten by a fox, so maybe it's the same one."
Emma posted a video of the encounter online and was told to call the RSPCA.
But her daughter's boyfriend Mason was on hand to remove the lost fox and put it back outside.
Emma said: "I've kept my backdoor shut since!"
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