Is the 'Beast of Hale' a fox?

Recent Messenger reports of residents seeing a strange looking animal in the Hale area have prompted readers to send in photographs of what they believe is the creature.

One reader compared the animal to a jackal.

But experts at the Cheshire Wildlife Trust say these are images, in fact, of a common-or-garden fox.

A spokesman for the wildlife trust, said of the latest photo: "“This all but confirms that the mystery garden visitor is indeed a fox, but perhaps one keen to capture the limelight of the recent ITV series.

"The vibrant orangey-red fur, white breast and black-tipped ears of our native fox are all in evidence in the photograph.

“While similar in shape to a jackal, their African cousin has a grey back, pale biscuit-coloured body and distinctly longer legs, and is rather more likely to be at home on the sandy windswept plains than urban Sale and Altrincham.”

Messenger has reported in recent weeks how readers have been astonished to see an unidentified creature in the area.

Last week reader Sue Langham told how she had seen the animal sitting on her back door step on Rivington Road.

The mother-of-two described the animal as about the size of a small dog with the head of a fox and a muscly body. Mark Jackson and his son Jay had seen a similar creature on Belmont Road, Hale.