PREVIEW

A Surrey badger had a lucky escape after becoming trapped in a pitch-black basement of a locked reservoir site.

The poor creature is believed to have fallen through a gap in a window or roof into the dark, grimy cellar, which housed old pumps and machinery, at Churt Wynde in Hindhead, Surrey.

The basement, rarely visited and locked up most of the time, became a death trap for the inquisitive badger – but fate was on his side when a worker from a water company, visiting the site, noticed the animal and immediately alerted the RSPCA.

Animal Rescue Officer Sarah Whatton quickly arrived on the scene and found the badger perched on top of some machinery inside the dark, eerie boiler room, tucked away between gaps in the equipment.

Speaking about the rescue, Sarah said: “It’s a real miracle that we got to him in time – we don’t know how long he’d been down there, as we were told hardly anyone ever goes down to the cellar – so he’s really very lucky.”

"He was sitting on top of the machinery and wasn’t moving much at first, which was concerning. While he appeared slightly lethargic though, there were no obvious injuries and his limbs looked intact."

"When I approached him, he did start to move around, but he seemed reluctant to jump down. Given the circumstances, we felt it was safest to get him checked over."

Sarah took the badger to HART Wildlife Rescue in Alton, Hampshire, where he was kept overnight for observation.

Robyn Leslie, Hospital Manager at HART, explained: “As we didn’t know how long the badger may have been trapped underground, we wanted to check for dehydration or weakness. Fortunately, he had no obvious injuries and was in good body condition.”

The following evening, on January 27, a member of the HART team returned the badger to the area where he had been found and set him free.

Robyn added: "He ran off very well. It’s always wonderful to see a wild animal return safely to where it belongs. We’re hopeful he’s now back home and will stay out of trouble."