Rare black fox run over just days after first sighting - Update

An extremely rare black fox has died after being hit by a car just days after it was first spotted. The creature, believed to be one of only a handful in the country, was killed on the Old North Road between Royston and Bassingbourn. Attempts to save the fox by Gary Sanderson, communications manager at the East of England Ambulance Service, were unsuccessful.

He was flagged down by motorists who had recognised the fox, after being caught on camera by keen photographer John Moore, 58, of Bassingbourn. Mr Sanderson said: “Members of the public had stopped to see if they could help the injured animal as it had been hit by a car which had then driven off.



“But after they flagged me down it was evident there was nothing anyone could do and the fox had sadly died. I must admit this was the first time I have seen a black fox and it’s a shame it has died.” Jack White from Kneesworth, who took the picture above, was one of those who found the animal and pledged it would receive a decent burial.

"The poor creature laid dead beside the A1198 not far from the turning to Kneesworth House Hospital," he said. "Rather than leave it as so often happens to become an unsightly mess and out of respect for a very beautiful creature I removed it and it will receive a decent burial."

Previously.