An East Kilbride woman has become a worldwide internet sensation after she posted footage of a family of foxes feeding in her garden.
Videos and photos of Sharon Hughes with the eight animals have generated more than 90million views since she began posting them on TikTok and Instagram.
Sharon, 56, told our sister paper the Sunday Mail she has been feeding the same family for the past 25 years.
Every day eight members of the current generation turn up for their daily breakfast of sausages and sausage rolls outside her South Lanarkshire home.
In some cases the female foxes turn up with their cubs to feed.
Sharon, who works as a receptionist, said: “We are now on the fourth generation of foxes. I remember feeding their great-grandparents.
“I began posting videos of the foxes being fed a few years ago and I now get messages from all over the world.
“The foxes now have 140,000 followers combined between my Instagram and TikTok accounts. There have been more than 90million views and over 10million likes on my posts.”
Sharon said the majority of comments about the foxes are positive, with few negative posts.
She added: “I have received hundreds of thousands of messages that I can’t even begin to read, never mind answer them. I can’t believe my gang of foxes interests so many people. It is very humbling.”
As well as feeding the foxes, she also looks after their medical needs. Sharon took one to an animal sanctuary in Ayrshire after it was knocked down and injured by a car – though it could not be saved. If she sees any of the animals limping or in pain, she puts special painkillers in their sausages.
Every one of the eight foxes answers its own name, including Twisted, Little Ted, Charles and Dyson.
Sharon, 56, said: “We call one fox Dyson because he hoovers everything up.
“Twisty got his name because his head is cocked on one side. However, he has been assessed by a vet by video and is okay. He thinks it is probably genetic. Charles got his name after he appeared for the first time on the day of the coronation.
“The foxes are very friendly and often bring us gifts like mice, which they leave on the doorstep.”
Sharon also has three cats but they get on well with the foxes.
She said the foxes are so tame that they often come right up to the back door to be fed.
The animals have their den in the nearby woods and gather in the garden as soon as Sharon shouts to them.
They are also fed leftovers like pizza, eggs, Chinese takeaways and chicken legs.
The only time Sharon doesn’t see the foxes is for two months during the mating season.
Sharon’s husband Billy died in May 2020 at the age of 57 after he was diagnosed with cancer.
At the time she went public over concerns that people like Billy weren’t being properly screened during the pandemic.
Sharon added: “Billy loved the foxes like I do and he used to joke they were far better fed.
“No food goes in the bin when they are about, that’s for sure.”
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