15 hours ago
Not so cunning now! Fox gets stuck in letterbox before wedging itself between garden fence in calamitous escape bid
A not-so-cunning fox managed to get itself stuck twice in a matter of moments - in a letterbox and then between a garden fence.
The animal was found hanging upside down from a door by paperboy Liam Clement.
Liam, 16, came to the male's rescue and released its foot.
However just seconds after the fox ended up wedging itself between nearby bricks and a garden fence, as it tried to make a getaway.
An animal rescue charity was called out and saved the 'feisty' animal.
The fox is now recovering from its injuries at the South Essex Wildlife Hospital in Orsett, Essex.
Lawrie Brailey, operations manager for the organisation, said they received a report from the teenager about a fox which had become stuck in the Hadleigh area.
The 32-year-old was told that the teenager had spotted the animal with its foot hanging out of a letter box while carrying out his paper round.
The boy went over to help and managed to free the fox from the door.
The team at South Essex Wildlife said they have 'no idea' how the animal managed to get itself into the position where it was hanging upside down.
After being released, the male fox panicked and scarpered away.
But, while attempting to flee, the alarmed fox ran to the left of the front door and got itself stuck between the wall and fence.
Mr Brailey said that it was fortunate that the animal was not able to escape, as it suffered injuries from the letterbox which would require attention.
Mr Brailey was called out to the property at around 11:20am where he used a tool to wiggle the fox out from the tight space.
He said that the fox was 'quite good' while he was removing it from the gap, but added: 'As soon as he got into the cage he went ballistic.
'He's a really, really feisty fox. Coming into the hospital, he has been really, really angry.'
Mr Brailey said the fox has been left with a nasty wound, ligament damage and several fractures to the metatarsal bones, which are the five long bones located in the foot.
It was rushed straight into surgery and the damaged ligaments were sutured back together before the leg was splinted in place.
On when the fox can be released, Mr Brailey said: 'There's no sort of timeline for it. We would be talking a minimum of two months, really.'
South Essex Wildlife, which was founded in 1995, said: 'Time will tell is further surgery is required, but we're not giving up on this poor boy just yet... please wish him the best of luck.'
