by Thom Morris

A bright white fox has been snapped in the grounds of the farm where the Darling Buds of May was filmed.

Caught on camera by Buss Farm, Bethersden, owner Roger Holmes, the sly creature is seen lounging on the grass.

Buss Farm in Pluckley Road was Home Farm in the classic ITV series where the Larkin family lived. Mr Holmes has lived in the house since 1972.

The 59-year-old, who saw it last Wednesday, said: “I looked out of the window and thought it was a lamb at first. Then I looked a bit closer and thought it must be a dog and so got the binoculars out and saw that it was a fox.

“It stayed there for about 10 minutes and then ambled off and then about two hours later it came back again. The place is teaming with rabbits so he was probably after something to eat.”

In November last year two white foxes were shot in Kent.

Rolvenden chef Mark Gilchrist, who runs catering company Game for Everything, shot a white fox in November last year and said they are not as rare as some people believe.

He said: “Some people get attached to them because they’re white which is silly really because they’re still a fox and still attack lambs.

“You find them all over the place and there’s a triangle of them around the Lenham area and a few towards East Sussex. The albino fox on the other hand is very, very rare.”

Kentish Express wildlife expert Owen Leyshon of the Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership said albino versions of animals will always occur.

Without seeing whether the creature’s eyes are pink, it cannot be ascertained whether this fox is albino or not.

Mr Leyshon said: “Albino goes through all creatures though a white fox is a rarity, it’s not unheard of. We’ve had reports of albino badgers and squirrels in the past.

“They have a slightly weaker genetic make-up and they tend not to live as long, so if there’s one in a litter of four, it tends to be the one that perishes first.

“They can still live for a number of years but obviously the fur doesn’t help when it comes to hiding from predators – it would stick out like a sore thumb.”