Portsmouth laundrette damaged by not-so-fantastic fox

The fox was first spotted in the laundrette by passers-by in the street

A laundrette has been wrecked within a couple of months of its opening by an errant fox.

The owners of The Laundry Room in Portsmouth were alerted by a flurry of social media posts and messages after the animal was spotted inside the building by people in the street.

Tariq Danba said: "We'd put all the work in to get it open... and then it just came in and destroyed everything."

The RSPCA is trying to catch the fox so it can be relocated.

Mr Danba said: "I got notified first on Friday night by some passers-by who saw the fox literally just tearing through everything in the shop."

The leader of Portsmouth City Council Gerald Vernon-Jackson even tweeted about the incident after being informed by a resident.

The mangling mammal returned the following day and inflicted more damage, leading the owners to try leaving it a trail of food to lead it away from the premises.

Fittings throughout the premises were torn up by the fox

Mr Danba hypothesised that it was using the air vents in the ceiling.

"It tore through the paper on the walls, the signs inside, the LED lighting. I got the windows vinyled, it just tore through that," he added.

"Mirrors were broken. You'd think a person came in but everything's been chewed, you've got paw prints everywhere, all over the table and counter, the ceiling's come down, the chairs.

"Everything's getting disinfected right now, I had to get a cleaner in."

The business has since reopened after it received help from another laundrette to ensure that clothes for upcoming weddings and funerals were ready on time.

Mr Danba has yet to calculate the cost of the damages, but said he would not be resorting to fundraising to recoup the losses.