Drivers in Tunbridge Wells have been left outraged after hungry foxes apparently chewed through the brake cables of several cars. Kent police have now warned drivers to check their brakes before setting off on journeys.

Officers called on wildlife expert John Bryant to determine whether there was an explanation other than deliberate damage to six vehicles in the second half of May. He concluded that a family of teenage fox cubs, rather than a human vandal, had gnawed through the brake cables.

“It is a pretty rare occurrence, but you do get a couple of cases every year. It is the cubs who are teenage hooligans now, so they are up to all sorts,” Bryant said. “They get under cars and snap away at all the cables when they are hyped up.”

A Kent police spokesman said an expert had confirmed that the damage was not caused by humans. “Foxes, especially cubs at this time of year, are known to rest under vehicles, and can chew through pipes. There is no evidence at this stage to suggest the damage was deliberately caused by a person. However, any new reports will be thoroughly investigated,” he said.

Each incident was noticed by the driver concerned and no one has been injured as a result. However, one of the vehicle owners – who had to pay £400 to have her brake cables repaired – did not believe that foxes were to blame. “The cuts are just too clean … I think it was more malicious. I want cast-iron proof that it was a fox,” she said.

Another victim, Tim Ellingham, realised the brake cables on his Ford Transit van had been interfered with last week when they felt spongy. “The line was cut virtually all the way through,” he said. “You could have done it with a decent-sized pair of cutters and a good strong grip in one or two squeezes.”