Fox on the run evades the men from the ministry

A fox that has bitten five people in a Cornish fishing village is believed to be roaming the area, evading a Ministry of Agriculture team armed with dart guns and nets.

The Ministry sought to allay fears of a rabies scare in Mousehole, near Penzance, yesterday saying there was no evidence that the fox was rabid. However, it has advised victims to have a precautionary injection.

Reports that an injured fox had been found in a gutter in Penzance raised hopes yesterday that the culprit had been tracked down. But the RSPCA said it was not the same animal.

Five people, including a fisherman, have been bitten in Mousehole, a popular tourist spot, since last weekend.

Last Sunday, the fox cut a swathe through the quayside, possibly looking for offcuts of fish. After being shooed out of a gift shop by a man who received a vengeful nip on the ankle, it sank its teeth into a passer- by eating fish and chips near the harbour. It then repaired to a pub car park, where it ambushed a woman from beneath her vehicle. Mousehole has a thriving fox population, but attacks on people are highly unusual. The RSPCA said that the fox was probably hungry rather than rabid.

"It sounds like a tame animal that has lost its natural fear of humans," said a spokeswoman. "Or it may be that it has been fed regularly for a while, and then abandoned."

A team of seven people - two Ministry vets, two public health officers, two council "trappers" and an animal biologist - has been prowling popular haunts of foxes in Mousehole after dusk. But their quarry appears to have gone to ground.

The fox discovered on the seafront in Penzance had been hit by a car and was concussed. Having made a full recovery, it has been ruled out of inquiries.

"It is an ordinary RTA (road traffic accident) fox," said Les Sutton, the RSPCA's chief inspector for Cornwall. "Besides, to travel to Penzance it would have had to negotiate an awful lot of traffic and find its way around the streets."

Devon and Cornwall police said they would send a marksman to shoot the fox if found.