Badger breaks into Essex family's home during the night

A family said they were amazed after a badger repeatedly broke into their home in search of food.

Greg Dow assumed a fox was to blame for knocking over a bin several times and messing up their kitchen in Southend, Essex, but then caught the real culprit in the middle of the night.

"I heard a bump and a noisy chewing sound, came downstairs and there was a badger eating our cat's food - it had forced its way through the cat flap, bending it," he said.

His wife Heather said: "Badgers are supposed to be shy creatures so it's amazing to see one in your own kitchen."

The RSPCA said badgers often came into gardens looking for food and said the most humane way to discourage them was to "remove or stop access to whatever it is that's attracting them".

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