Fox office

Perhaps she was looking for some shoes to go with her red fur coat.

But the vixen which wandered into a store in the heart of London did not get much opportunity to browse.

Pandemonium broke out as shoppers realised what was tiptoeing between the high heels and boots.

"The shop was quite busy so it wasn't long before it was spotted and then there was a real commotion," said Sarah Adeyemi, manager of the Office store in Portobello Road, Notting Hill.

"We had lots of people in the middle of trying on shoes who started shrieking and running out into the street in their socks.

"Nobody even noticed the fox when it first walked in because it just followed a woman with a pram, minding its own business." She added: "We often deal with wasps and pigeons but we have never had a fox to visit. We decided to shut the shop in case it was diseased."

The shoe shop closed for an hour afternoon while staff waited for the RSPCA to arrive.

"At first, it was quite calm and curled up in the window by the trainer display," Mrs Adeyemi said. "But then it began to get a bit agitated."

RSPCA officers cornered the fox behind the till and took it away to be released in the country.