Pupils at two primary schools have been kept indoors at lunch-time after a fox was spotted in the playground.

The animal was spotted outside Cefn Onn Primary School, which shares a site with Ysgol Y Wern Primary School in Llanishen, Cardiff.

It followed an incident where twin babies in east London needed hospital treatment after being mauled by a rogue fox in their home.

Cardiff council said the children were kept in as a precaution.

The fox was first spotted on Monday when teachers at both schools were instructed to keep the children away from the playground at lunch-time.

The fox was spotted again before school began on Tuesday and the council sent its pest control team in to investigate.

A council spokeswoman said: "A fox was sighted in the school grounds earlier this week. The children were kept inside the school building as a precautionary measure.

"The schools acted in a routine way and in much the same way as they would have done had a dangerous dog been loose on the premises."

She said pest control officers had searched for a possible den for the fox and located signs of one underneath a temporary classroom on the site.

She added: "Investigations are ongoing but there is the possibility that the fox has left after being disturbed."

Neither school would comment directly on the incident.