A terrified woman’s encounter with a fox “the size of a wolf” has led to renewed calls for action against the urban pests in Westminster.

Carol Gould, 58, came face-to-face with an earth of foxes at the entrance to Northwick Close in St John’s Wood where she lives.

“I was confronted by a pack of four foxes including one large bushy-tailed black one the size of a wolf,” she said.

“Having no idea what to do I rang a friend of mine who used to be a member of a country hunt and she told me not to approach them as packs always attack.

“It ended up being a stand-off because they would not budge from the entrance to the mews and looked quite vicious. I thought I would freeze and contemplated checking into a hotel.”

A neighbour came to her rescue, scaring the feral animals away with a torch.

Residents have complained about gangs of foxes and Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, leader of the opposition, has gathered an 81-signature petition calling for action, which is to be considered in the next week.

A council spokesman said it “still does not classify foxes as pests” placing them beyond the realm of the pest control team.