A Wanstead woman had an unexpected visitor on Friday when a fox wandered into her home.

Jane Mallen, of Belgrave Road, was meditating in her lounge when the inquisitive creature came in through the patio door at around 6am.

She said: “I thought I could hear footsteps and I was on my own so it gave me such a shock.

“I jumped up and saw the fox go up the stairs. I couldn’t believe it, I was shrieking and shouting at it to get out.

“I saw it come down the stairs but when it saw me, it went straight back up.”

Not wanting to startle the animal, Jane left it to wander the first floor.

She added: “I was pondering what to do when it came down, trotted past me, looked in the kitchen in a leisurely fashion, and meandered back out of the patio door.

“It turned and gave me a lingering look from the garden and tripped merrily through the hedge.”

The animal did not leave any mess after around 10 minutes in the house but Jane, 60, said she will be “wary” of leaving the door open in the future.

She has previously tried deterring foxes with repellent and even an ultrasonic machine to no avail.

Wanstead fox expert Graham Le Blond, who works at control firm Foxagon, said cubs are “teenagers” of around four or five months old at this time of year.

He added: “You can only describe them as juvenile delinquents. They push their luck and see how far they can go and what they can get away with.

“You rarely get adult foxes in houses because they know the danger of getting trapped but youngsters need to learn.

“They don’t want to attack or even steal food – they’re just very inquisitive.”

Have you had a foxy visitor in your home? Tell us about it in the comments or email lizzie.dearden@archant.co.uk.