Watch as Edinburgh mum hand feeds fox cheese slices and sausages in her suburban street

Boiled eggs and chicken are 'Felix's' favourite

FANTASTIC footage has emerged of a mother hand-feeding a fox in her suburban street.

Animal lover Linda Thomson has shared videos of the mammal happily gnawing away on anything from cheese slices to sausages.

The financial services worker hopes her good deed at the Gyle will help raise awareness of the fox’s rapidly shrinking habitat.

Felix the fox mid-snack

“I’ve not come across a fox before but in the middle of November I was walking the dog and it kept running up to us and then running away again,” said the 43-year-old mother-of-one.

“I know it’s the same fox because he’s got a patch - there’s a family of three foxes, apparently.

“Sometimes he’ll eat it right in front of me and other times he’ll take it away. He goes in different directions each time and I think he buries it for later.

Linda shops for 'Felix' at the supermarket

“I put some fish fingers out for him and at first he didn’t want them but then later I saw him with a fish finger sticking out of his mouth - it was so weird.

“You don’t expect to see a fox carrying food. Chicken and boiled eggs are his favourite.

“I’m a vegetarian so I go into Morrisons and Tesco and buy reduced meat for him.

“You see some foxes and they’re quite scrawny but he’s got a shiny coat - he’s well looked after.”

“It’s a shame because the foxes have nowhere to stay"

Named ‘Felix’ by Linda’s ten-year-old son Glen, the fox even gets on with one-and-half year-old King Charles Spaniel, Jasper - though British short-haired cat Katie is less impressed.

“Jasper’s a bit jealous when I feed him,” says Linda. “He’ll chase him out of the garden but when he comes back the fox is with him.

“Some people say you shouldn’t feed foxes because they’re a threat to domestic animals but I Googled it and they won’t touch domestic animals because they’re scared they’ll get hurt.

“The sad thing is that we’ve taken away his natural habitat - there’s been so much property development at the Gyle.

“It’s a shame because the foxes have nowhere to stay - I don’t know where he stays.

“The first few times it was 8pm every night but then the rain came and seemed to interrupt his routine. Over the last week it’s been sporadic.”

Glen has ensured the voracious visitor is the talk of the classroom at Gylemuir Primary School.

“He’s very environmentally aware and an animal lover,” says Linda. “He tells his teacher about him.”

And Felix the friendly fox is becoming quite the local celebrity after Linda posted her feeding videos on Facebook.

Joanne Bruce posted: “He is gorgeous. I don't understand people who can even think of hurting them.”