PREVIEW

A fox cub has been rescued by a local wildlife hospital after getting its head stuck in a sink plug hole.

The cub, trapped in a ceramic basin in a Basildon, Essex garden for several hours, required some "delicate ear-folding" by the wildlife hospital to be freed.

Photos show the fox looking very forlorn as its back half remained free of the disused sink.

The animal had injured its front paws and had a swollen neck from its escape attempts but received treatment at South Essex Wildlife Hospital (SEWH) in Orlett.

A SEWH spokesperson said: "It seemed that the homeowners were sorting out a shed and happened to leave it lying sideways when the poor creature decided to stick his head inside. Waking up the next morning to find the poor cub trapped, they called us out and our head vet Tom rushed over to help."

"As strange as it sounds, we have actually done this sort of rescue a few times and, with a little help and some delicate ear-folding, Tom managed to get him free. Back at our hospital in Orsett, Tom fixed the damage to the paws and started the cub on a treatment plan to combat any ill effect."

SEWH, which deals with more than 10,000 admissions of unwell wildlife each year, reported that the sink has now been moved to a different area of the homeowner's garden.