A Kent widower who had encouraged wild ducks to breed on his land for years was left baffled when they failed to produce a single duckling this year.

Fred Miller, 75, set a trap to catch the culprit - using chicken drumsticks. And it worked, but the thief raiding his garden in High Halden turned out to be a young fox.

Mr Miller, who has never had a problem with foxes before, said: "It must be a combination of a lack of wild rabbits they would normally feed on, and a good breeding season."

Mr Miller also caught a second fox using the same method. He released both back to the wild.