Elizabeth Hurley saved one of her hens from being attacked by a fox.

The 'Gossip Girl' star is a keen livestock farmer and owns several hens, and was alarmed to find the predator lurking in her garden but when she went out to snap a picture of the bushy-tailed hunter, it became startled and ran away.

The fox was found roaming closely to one of the actress' hens, however, the actress' quick response avoided an early death for her feathered friend.

In a Twitter post, Elizabeth wrote: "I saw a fox in my garden this morning - it vanished before i could photograph it, but I got the daffodils! If you look carefully you'll also see a hen pheasant looking very relieved. Mr Fox was probably about to nab her... (sic)"

The 47-year-old star's keeps many animals, including her cheeky pet Parrot Ping Pong and dogs Raja and Lucy.

Ping Pong has even learned to mimic her speech and the sound of her owner's coffee machine.

Hurley - who is engaged to cricketer Shane Warne - previously revealed: "My parrot Ping Pong can now imitate the coffee machine. Yes, annoying. She's very pleased with herself (sic)"