A fox came in stealth to steal chicken from a poultry farm near Pune in western India.

But it was spotted by the village dogs, which gave it a heady chase. Fleeing for its life, the fox entered a house whose doors were ajar, and took refuge.

Now the residents of the house rushed out fearing the wild animal and called rescuer Saidas Kusal after locking the doors behind.

Saidas and a colleague entered the house with a cage and caught the fox with their bare hands.

Saidas said: “We had overpower the fox without causing it any more stress and also watch out for accidental bites. There was no time to lose as it was quite a task to keep the village dogs at bay.”

The fox was released at a nearby forest later in the day.