Leon Smith's shock as he finds FOX in bed in his home in South-West London Leon Smith was enjoying lie-in when he felt himself nuzzled by furry animal Assumed it was his pet cat and reached over to his girlfriend for a cuddle But she had gone to work and he found himself holding an urban fox Partner Sophie Merrell fears vermin will return to house in SW London A man who reached out to cuddle his girlfriend in bed was shocked to wake up and find he was holding a fox in his arms. Leon Smith, who works from his suburban home, was enjoying a lie-in after his partner got up and went to work without him knowing He felt a furry creature climb into the bed and nuzzle into his neck - and assumed it was the couple's cat Bramble. But when he turned around to give his girlfriend a hug he realised the animal had coarse hair - and he opened his eyes to see he was holding a fox. Couple: Leon Smith and Sophie Merrell were terrified when an urban fox entered their home Intruder: IT consultant Mr Smith managed to snap a photo of the animal before it ran away The fox had apparently entered the house in Hampton Hill, South-West London through the catflap ahead of the incident on August 7. Mr Smith, 30, quickly whipped out his phone to capture photographic evidence of the intruder - but then man and fox entered a 10-minute stand-off. The vermin only ran off after the IT consultant charged at it shouting. 'I just thought it was the cat, so I thought nothing of it,' Mr Smith said. It had walked up my back and was licking my neck for a good couple of seconds. I pushed him off and rolled over for a cuddle, forgetting Sophie was already at work. Fear: Ms Merrell is worried the vermin will return to the couple's home in Hampton Hill, South-West London Mistaken identity: Mr Smith initially assumed the animal nuzzling him was the couple's pet cat Bramble When I touched what I thought was the cat, it was all rough and not like Bramble at all. 'I couldn't believe it. It was so calm - it just stared at me. Then it went to the end of the bed and that's when I grabbed my phone to take the picture. It went to the door and just sat in the doorway, still staring. It trapped me. The animal was apparently not looking for food, as it walked past the kitchen on its way up two flights of stairs to the second-floor flat. His partner Sophie Merrell, who was commuting to her job at a transport company at the time of the incident, initially laughed when she saw the photo of the fox - but now she is worried it will return. Bedroom: The IT consultant reached out to hug his partner, not realising she had left for work, and found himself holding the fox instead Gaining entry: The fox apparently got in to the house through the catflap and then ran up the stairs 'When I saw the fox I thought it was hilarious at first,' the 28-year-old said. I thought, "Well serves you right for laying in bed." But then I put the picture on Facebook and a lot of my friends said they would have been terrified. 'If it had got into bed with me, I don't know what I would have done - maybe hide under the covers and scream and cry. 'I'm really scared now that it will come back, I'm really jumpy. I am really paranoid when I am alone in the house that it will come and get me. An RSPCA spokesman said: 'Foxes by nature will tend to avoid human contact and incidents such as these are rare. We would encourage people to use humane deterrents to discourage foxes from their gardens, the most effective of which is removing or preventing access to what attracts them - for example food.