A county-wide street light switch-off is attracting foxes which are causing a nuisance in a small area of Bushey, according to residents.

Several sightings of the nocturnal animals have been reported by neighbours who complain of piercing screeching noises at night in the Warren Road area.

One paper boy delivering in the dark one early morning reportedly felt so threatened by a pair of the wild dogs he was forced to phone his newsagent to pick him up.

The story of the unnerved teen has now brought the issue to the attention of several neighbours who contacted the chairman of the Warren Road Residents Association, Raymond Coffer.

He said: “Certainly five or six people have emailed me so far to say they have seen the foxes and it is becoming an issue.

“Apparently they rarely attack but a number of residents have spoken to me about it. The street lights being turned off is certainly an issue we are concerned about. They go off at midnight and it is extremely dark. It is a huge problem.

“The council say they can’t do anything about it as they’re not considered vermin. I suppose we’re on the foxes’ land and they’re just as annoyed with us as we are with them.”

Hertfordshire County Council have been phasing in a money-saving policy of turning off street lights between midnight and 6am across the county since the end of 2011.

The switch-off came into effect in Bushey in November but conservation charity The Wildlife Trust believes it is unlikely to have a significant effect on foxes in the area.

Sarah Buckingham, a representative of Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, said: “It’s unlikely that the street lighting will have an effect on the behaviour of foxes at this time of year. It is the mating season, so residents may well see more foxes around and hear vixens making those blood-curdling, other-worldly noises at night.”