PENSIONER Richard Lavelle has managed to out-fox animal experts.

He is the man who has found the secret to training the bushy-tailed creatures.

Up to seven wild foxes creep into the 80-year-old's garden every evening and wait patiently for him to open his back door.

Then, on his command, they stand bolt upright on their hind legs and deftly catch the morsels of turkey and ham that he throws them.

Wildlife experts say they have never heard of anyone training foxes in this way.

Richard, of Stenson Road, Derby, said the foxes had started to appear in his garden more than five years ago.

He said: "A mother fox had some cubs. They came from a den on some allotments at the bottom of my neighbour's garden, so I started to offer them food.

"When the mother died, the cubs kept coming up into my garden and now I am seeing the second generation."

He said it took a lot of patience to get the foxes to become comfortable around him.

"At first it was just one or two foxes and they would run off easily.

"But when they saw they could get free food, they got bolder and bolder.

"And more started arriving each night, up to six or seven at once."

He said he had tried to get them to sit before giving them the food but that hadn't worked.

"So I asked them to stand up, motioning with the food, holding it high above them – and it worked," he said,

Richard also said he finds the foxes sitting waiting for him in the driveway when he comes home in the afternoon.

He said: "There seems to be a real bond. I've know many of them for several years and watched some of them grow.

"They cost me a fortune in food but I just love them, love being able to help them and get close to them."

His eight-year-old granddaughter, Josie, said she did not know anyone else who could get as close to foxes.

She said: "You get to see what they are like really close up. Grandad is very quiet and patient.

"I call the mum Cheeky because she is always poking her nose into things and trying to get more food."

Neighbour Jessy Gill, 17, said his family thought what Richard was doing was a benefit to the area.

He said: "There has been a big difference since Richard started to look after the foxes.

"We know they can be vicious and they can wreck the allotments at the bottom of the garden but since he started feeding them, the gardens have been left alone and are much safer for my younger brother to play in.

"Richard did say he had trained them to stand up but we didn't believe him. Now you can see it, it is amazing."

Nick Brown, education manager at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said the trust commended Richard's actions.

He said: "I've not heard of anybody trying to train foxes in this way before.

"It doesn't seem as if Richard is forcing the animals to do anything cruel or harmful.

"The foxes are getting regular food and it seems to be stopping them destroying the local environment. The fact that the foxes go so close is a tribute to his patience."