A mystery shoe stealer left St Albans folk wondering what the fox going on... But now the puzzle is solved.

A stealthy critter has been caught red-footed on door cameras, taking expensive work boots, designer sandals and pricey trainers from porches in the Sandpit Lane area.

Melanie Quest of Fleetville has now created a pick-up zone for victims of the footwear thief, and shared pictures of the vulpine haul so people can reclaim them.

She said: "This might sound mad but there is a fox who likes to collect footwear and leave it in the woodland area close to Woodstock Road.

"In the evening I often see foxes in our road and roads nearby. We have an area of private woodland in our road. I think foxes like to play in the woodland, or do whatever foxes like to do during the night. We frequently hear them making their strange barking noise. A gardener recently strimmed the woodland area and found lots of boots and shoes.

"With the help of several residents he collected up all the footwear so we could take photos to try and reunite the shoes and boots with their owners.

"I don’t know how long the shoes and boots have been lying strewn around the woodland. The same thing happened last summer. Last year the fox seemed to have a liking for Crocks, this year I’d say it prefers walking boots. One of our neighbours thinks that they are preparing for the arrival of some cubs and that the boots and shoes might be playthings for the cubs.

"Please get in touch if any of these are yours and you would like them back. I have added some more photos as a few more items have been found in the the woodland this week - a large DM shoe, the partner to a pink and black trainer in an earlier picture and a sand-coloured work boot."

You can contact Melanie through Facebook group All Things St Albans or emailing melanie.quest@icloud.com