Urban Fox was a column in the Lifestyle section of the Get West London Gazette newspaper. The column, formerly in the London Informer and Chronicle newspapers, gave locals a chance to read about London’s thriving wildlife. When the previous writer departed to the wilds of South Wales, I then took on the mantle of Urban Fox from November 2006 to 2017.

I have an allotment in New Malden, South West London, where a surprising array of wild creatures of all kinds inhabit or visit the site including, of course, a family of real urban foxes. This, together with the crops, native plants (weeds) and changing seasons, formed the material for a monthly column.