A FOX cub which had a tragic start to life is causing a big stir in a North village.

Sammy - named after glamour model Samantha Fox - was barely alive when found by animal lover Stefan Morrall and his brother-in-law, Paul Webster, underneath the body of its dead mother

The pair were walking in fields near their homes in North Stainley, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, when they came across the body of the adult fox, which had been shot.

Alerted by the barking of his two Jack Russell terriers, Mr Morrall turned the body over to find the petrified cub hiding underneath.

The animal was only a few weeks old. It was thin, mangy and its eyes and face had been pecked by crows.

But after treatment from the vet and a diet of steak and pork chop scraps from the village pub, Sammy is on the mend. She is even becoming something of a celebrity, attracting attention wherever she goes.

Busloads of tourists stop to take pictures when Sammy is taken for a walk on a lead.

Mr Morrall, 52, said Sammy was wary of people at first, but is now getting used to them.

"She's a grand little thing and doesn't bite at all," he said. "I take her to the pub and she jumps up on the seat - she's more like a dog than a fox. People are fascinated by her as they don't normally get the chance to see foxes close up.

"The vet was amazed when I took her in because it was the first fox he had treated that he did not need to muzzle."

They would like to release the fox back into the wild, but are worried Sammy has become too tame and could be killed by a gamekeeper or farmer.

"We are also waiting to see if she picks up any hunting skills as she gets older," said Mr Webster.

"If she doesn't, we may have to continue looking after her."

Meanwhile, the fox is living in a specially-made pen in Mr Morrall's back garden.