A couple in France’s Dordogne region were left baffled when their pétanque balls vanished from their garden court, until CCTV revealed a fox stole at least 19 of the boules
A couple were left baffled at the amount of pétanque balls that had been disappearing from their small garden. The mystery was solved when CCTV footage showed the thief in the act.
Véronique and Damien, from Saint-Vincent-de-Connezac in France’s Dordogne region, claim a fox stole at least 19 pétanque balls, a crime they can now prove with footage. In a video, showcasing the theft, a cheeky fox can be seen making off with a set of expensive pétanque balls.
The night-vision camera captures the hairy thief firmly gripping one of the heavy, metallic French boules in its jaws. Véronique and Damien, who play almost every day on the boulodrome they built at home, began noticing the balls disappearing one after another in early May.
Véronique said: “We’re a bit messy, we don’t put them away in the cabinet, we leave them on the pitch.”
Worried someone was coming onto their property, they installed a camera facing the court, Ici reported. “We don’t like thinking like that, but we wondered if people were coming into our property to steal them,” Véronique said.
Damien subsequently created a folder on his computer dedicated to the nightly footage. He said: “We’ve got a fox that prefers balls to chickens, it’s extraordinary.”
According to the couple, the sneaky canine has been turning up almost every night since the first theft. Véronique said: “We were stunned, we laughed.
“It’s something you could tell anywhere and people would say it’s a funny story, but it’s very real.” The couple estimate the theft has cost them between €800 and €900 (about £670 to £760).
Apparently, the fox has helped himself to the best sets. Véronique said: “It stole all the good balls.
“My husband has only one left.” After setting up the camera, the couple have bought a tracker and plan to attach it to one of their remaining balls as bait, hoping it will lead them to the fox’s stash.
“It’s become a game between us,” Véronique said. “If we’re lucky, we hope it’ll take us to its den, and I’ll be honest, if it’s not around the den, we’ll dig to get our balls back.
“My father-in-law has a mini digger… as soon as we call him, we’ll go and get our balls.” She said they were angry at first, but now it feels like an adventure.
“We’re almost happy it happened to us because it’s so extraordinary,” Véronique added. “We’ve got adrenaline, we really want to get our balls back.
“We want to be cleverer than the fox… It’s something that will be unforgettable, it could be a book.”
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