A fox has been stealing shoes from an English suburb and depositing them, one by one, into a mystified woman's garden. It's gotten so bad she's put a table out in front of her house, so passing neighbors can retrieve their shoes.


The BBC reports that the first shoe appeared a few months ago, and the footwear-thieving bandit is now leaving one every day. It might be a boot or a sandal, but it's generally leather and rarely damaged.

"First of all we just collected them thinking they were too good to throw in the bin," explained Elaine Hewitt. "When the pile grew we did a little notice. We had a few phone calls from that and were able to give back and match up a couple of pairs." But she still had a big pile, hence the table: "The number of vehicles and passers-by who stopped to ask about it, to look and also to take their shoes back was absolutely astounding."


Why shoes? Who knows? Foxes are the wild-eyed weirdos of the animal kingdom. Dogs only retrieve sticks you've thrown; cats go with something practical, like a dead vole or a bag of weed. This fox is likely a total troll who just likes watching the look on Elaine Hewitt's face.