A Clayhall resident has resorted to desperate measures to combat the foxes digging up his garden.

Johnny Lyndon, of Coniston Gardens, used his own urine to try to deter the animals.

He said: “I got so desperate, I urinated in some bottles and put them down there because it’s supposed to puts the foxes off.

“But I don’t think they’ve worked because of all the rain.”

The 85-year-old says he and his neighbours are powerless to stop the foxes that have been living in the road for the last month.

A fox got into his garage on Sunday night.

Mr Lyndon said: “You’ve never seen anything like it. Boxes and rubbish bags were ripped open and they’d been jumping on the fridge.

“My lawn is absolutely destroyed, there are holes all over the place and the trouble is they’re leaving their calling card.

“I don’t have young children visiting but the people down the road do and they don’t allow them out in the garden in case they fall over in it.”

Redbridge Council does not remove foxes from gardens and illegal use of poison can incur a fine.

Foxes can be legally shot or trapped in a cage and given a lethal injection.

Mr Lyndon said: “Even if we manage to scare them away, they will go into someone else’s property and be a problem there.

“Something needs to be done, they’re a health risk.”