A wildlife photographer has captured these amazing images of an extremely rare black fox playing in his back garden.

Robert Fuller was shocked when he heard the rare animal had been spotted by another nature enthusiast outside his flat in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and was prompted to start tracking it.

The artist and photographer was inspired after seeing some shaky footage by Robert Burns and the pair began embarking on a three-month mission to study the fox and its habits.

Robert Fuller managed to capture these amazing images of an extremely rare black fox playing in his back garden

He had started to trace the animal's movements after one of his customers had spotted it in his own garden

Although Mr Burns continued to film the jet-black creature, it wasn't until earlier this month that Mr Fuller finally got to set up his professional photography equipment.

After a tense wait, the fox appeared shortly after 11pm to eat food that Mr Burns had left for it.

Mr Fuller was able to get clear photographs and video of the elusive animal, one of the few times anyone has managed to do so in

Black foxes get their unusual colouring from a rare genetic defect, and are practically unheard of in Britain.

Mr Fuller, 43, from Thixendale, North Yorkshire, said: 'I first heard about the black fox when Robert phoned me to say he had spotted one outside his flat.

'Straight away I was very interested and excited at the prospect of seeing one.

'Black foxes make up about eight per cent of the fox population in Canada but they are incredibly rare in Britain. Sightings of them are practically unheard of.

'Robert then came to see me one day at my gallery and brought with him his camera.

It wasn't until earlier this month that Mr Fuller finally got to set up his professional photography equipment

After a tense wait, the fox appeared shortly after 11pm to eat food that Mr Burns had left for it earlier that evening

'When he played the footage I couldn't believe what I was seeing - I was expecting the fox to be dark, but this one was as black as a Labrador, with just the hint of silver highlights along its body.

'It had a beautiful white tip to its tail, just like a red fox.

'The footage was shaky but it clearly showed the black fox interacting with a vixen. Had it been footage of two red foxes behaving this way it would have been great but for it to be a black fox on film made it incredible.

'From that moment on it became a little project of mine.

'I was busy with an exhibition at the gallery but Robert would keep me updated with news on the black fox. At one point it got mange and was almost ousted by an older male but it pulled through.

'This month I finally got time to go round to Robert's to see the black fox for myself and get some high quality photos and footage.

'I set up my equipment outside Robert's flat and then waited. Shortly after 11pm the black fox arrived and began eating the food Robert had left for him.

'After a short while the fox slipped off and just melted into the night.

'I feel incredibly privileged to have seen such a rare and amazing creature, not least caught it on camera.'

Martin Hemmington, from the National Fox Welfare Society, said: 'Black foxes are very rare indeed and there have only been five confirmed sightings in Britain in as many years.

Rare: This was the image taken by Robert Burn in his back garden in Halifax, West Yorkshire, when he saw it in July

'I nearly fall off my chair when people send me photos of them, so this sighting is very exciting.'

The rare mammal is in fact a red fox which is going through a phase where the colour of its fur is particularly dark.

The unusual colouring is normally seen on growing cubs before the fox develops its dark chestnut coat, however some red foxes remain black due to a rare genetic flaw, which dates back hundreds of years.

In North America, foxes with black coats are often found with a variable amount of white or white-banded hair in the dark coat.

According to Gaelic tradition, black foxes are bringers of bad luck. Rural communities used to tell of a fox as 'black as night, so that it could live in a man's shadow and never be seen.'

Centuries-old superstitions are often found attached to black animals, such as black dogs and black cats.

It is thought to originate from when the black dog was said to bring disaster and doom to whoever saw the animal.