Twin nine-month-old girls were being treated at a London hospital on Monday after being mauled in their sleep by a fox.
The animal apparently entered the house and climbed stairs before attacking Lola and Isabella Koupparis in their beds while their parents watched television, according to reports. The girls' parents said they saw two foxes running from their house around the time of Saturday night's incident, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The twins were in a "serious but stable" condition, officials said. Both were recovering from arm wounds while one reportedly suffered facial injuries.
One fox was caught and destroyed, the BBC reported.
'Screams'
Vgur Pekcin, 29, a neighbor of the Koupparises, told the Telegraph the area had problem with foxes.
"The fox jumped into their back garden and must have run up the stairs without them noticing," he told the newspaper. "People heard screams and suddenly an ambulance and police turned up ... within minutes.
"There is a real fox problem round here and it's out of control. Only last week a fox came into my (living) room while I was watching TV."
The fox apparently entered through a ground floor door of the home, which is located in Homerton, east London. It had been left open due to hot weather, Press Association reported.
In urban areas of England there are an estimated 27 foxes per square mile, living in close proximity to humans.
Fox attacks are rare but not unheard of in the U.K. In 2002, 14-week-old Louis Eastwood was bitten in the head after an animal got into his room.