A village has found itself terrorised by ‘gangs’ of foxes, with drivers forced to set traps to stop the animals chewing their brake wires and scratching their cars.  

Drivers in Portchester, Hampshire, have lost thousands of pounds to the pesky vixens and dogs who they say are ‘obsessed’ with damaging their vehicles. 

A local garage said it has served almost ten customers with cars damaged by the relentless creatures in recent times. 

Residents are going to increasingly drastic lengths to keep the foxes from the door, with some coating their brakes in chilli powder as a deterrent, the Telegraph reports.

Others have opted for a similarly culinary touch, with garlic spray – while a few have plundered the medicine cupboard to make inventive use of Vicks VapoRub.

One villager recently found himself unable to conduct his business as usual – and nearly crashing – after discovering his brake wires had been mauled to pieces. 

Window cleaner Terry Stroud, 48, was driving his van to work one morning when he realised he ‘couldn’t brake at all’. 

After he took it to Portchester Autos, a mechanic revealed foxes were indeed behind the van’s dangerous fault. 

A village has found itself terrorised by ‘gangs’ of foxes (pictured), with drivers forced to set traps to stop the animals chewing their brake wires and scratching their cars

Drivers in Portchester, Hampshire, have lost thousands of pounds to the pesky vixens and dogs who they say are ‘obsessed’ with damaging their vehicles. Pictured: A brake wire foxes in the village had chewed through  

‘I was so lucky I could stop using the handbrake, especially at that time of the day,’ Mr Stroud said.

‘It’s frightening when you can see that I could’ve run down a bunch of schoolchildren.’

The near 15-year resident continued: ‘It’s got five times worse in a couple of years. 

‘It makes you worry what it’ll be like in another couple of years. The sheer number of foxes on our street is ridiculous. 

‘You can look out of your bedroom window at five or six in the evening and all you can see in the gardens are foxes.

‘You can see gangs of them sitting in the middle of the road before it’s even dark.’

Mr Stroud had to pay almost £350 to repair the fault, refill his brake fluid and fit a new sensor – and lost a day’s work amid the ordeal. 

Jack Burton, a mechanic at the garage, said they have seen ‘eight or nine’ similar cases in recent times in the quaint historic village, home to medieval Portchester Castle and a Roman fort.

Window cleaner Terry Stroud (pictured), 48, was driving his van to work one morning when he realised he ‘couldn’t brake at all’. A local mechanic who examined it revealed foxes behind the dangerous fault

The persistent animals often gnaw through the undercarriage of vehicles or scratch their paintwork by climbing all over them. 

‘It’s a bit of a problem around here,’ Mr Burton explained. 

One resident suggested it was a small minority of ‘fox nutters’ feeding the animals which was encouraging their rapacious appetites. 

Another local, meanwhile, said her van has similarly been left undriveable due to fox-related damage – but in her case, it happened twice in just a single month. 

Annmarie Stallard, 33, who lives near Portchester, saw her anti-lock braking system (ABS) targeted – a key safety feature that prevents skidding during stops. 

She had to replace her ABS cables two times in September last year, after she saw a pack of foxes attack the system, with each repair costing her hundreds of pounds. 

Since then, the resident has had to use spiked mats to deter the animals because she needs her Hyundai IX35 car to drive to work at her small business. 

Ms Stallard said: ‘I rely on [my car] for commuting to my shop 20 miles away as well as collecting business goods.

Mr Stroud had to pay almost £350 to repair the fault, refill his brake fluid and fit a new sensor – and lost a day’s work amid the ordeal. Pictured: A fox in the village 

Jack Burton, a mechanic at the garage, said they have seen ‘eight or nine’ similar cases in recent times in the quaint historic village (pictured, file photo), home to medieval Portchester Castle and a Roman fort

‘I have to put the “fox traps” under every night. They are just prickle mats on a frame that push under my car tyres every night so that it’s uncomfortable for them to sit on.’

But if she slips up and forgets even for one night, as she did recently, the result is even more damage to her car.  

‘My ABS light is now on so they’ve probably chewed my sensor again,’ she said.

‘I have also put my sensors in armoured trunking and attached it to the underside of my vehicle, although one side had to be removed due to a faulty sensor so back to square one again.’

She continued: ‘Nothing can be done but car manufacturers use animal fats in the cable that [foxes] love the taste of.’

Repairs can cost as much as £120 a pop, she said, even with a friends and family discount from her partner, who manages an autocentre. 

‘It’s so annoying and damned expensive,’ she said. 

Another resident, Yvona Hamarová, had her car bonnet and windscreen scratched by animals which had clambered on top of her car.

Another resident, Yvona Hamarová, had her car bonnet and windscreen scratched by animals which had clambered on top of her car. Pictured: A car scratched by foxes in the village

One resident suggested it was a small minority of ‘fox nutters’ feeding the animals which was encouraging their rapacious appetites. Pictured: A fox in the village 

The mother said she always goes out to chase them away when she spots them. 

But unfortunately, she continued, it has proved largely ineffective: ‘They are so used to people they will just stare at you and you can get pretty close to them.’  

Ms Hamarová explained she has also had ‘diarrhoea piles right outside our front door, all over the drive, garden and my outdoor furniture’. 

The family has also seen plant pots broken, their hot tub ‘chewed’ and several of their dog’s toys gone missing. 

She said: ‘I have had to re-do my whole fence and my next door neighbour doesn’t use part of his garden so it’s all overgrown. 

‘I believe [the foxes] live there as most of the dog toys were in and under the bushes.

‘I don’t really mind now the weather is not great because my dog uses the garden for the toilet and the kids don’t go out.

‘But in the summer I have had to mix bleach with water and dish soap and pressure wash the diarrhoea before I let either the kids or the dog outside in my own garden.’

The AA motoring organisation has previously speculated foxes may be attracted to brake wires due to the taste or texture of materials used for the casings around them. 

Foxagon, a fox deterrence company, has said many car manufacturers now use animal fats instead of plastic to coat cables – fooling foxes into seeing them as a snack. 

The firm receives frequent calls about munched wires – and has even seen some of its own vans targeted. 

Others, meanwhile, have suggested it is the use of soy-based insulators to encase the cables which could be to blame for tantalising the snacky animals. 

Foxagon has previously recommended covering brake wires with a metal cable protector to deter the creatures.