A BASINGSTOKE man's appeal to find the owners of a lost 'dog' has been revealed as an internet prank. 

A gentleman posted to a Facebook selling group: “I found a dog on Brighton Hill in the park. It is very distrustful.

“It does not have a collar. If anyone recognises your pet please pm me.”

Attached was a photograph of a fox scowling, in the footwell of a car.

The post was shared on Twitter where it was shared hundreds of times.

One user wrote: “Basingstoke kills me hahahaha my guy is taking a fox home.”

The photographer who captured the image has been in touch with the Gazette to say the Basingstoke man who shared the post was joking. 

Nicole Sag, from Germany, took the picture of her friend's fox and shared it online to see how many people she could fool into thinking it was a dog. 

After posting the picture to a local Facebook group in Germany, she couldn't believe it as the image of Trixie the fox spread across the internet.

"The post was intended as a little fun to point out that you shouldn't believe what you read on the internet and only posted on my profile and in a local group," she said.

"I updated it not even 24 hours later and it had already blown up and been posted everywhere. It is definitely a worthy lesson, I think."

Basingstoke Gazette: