Fox Outfoxed

31 August 2012, 12:43 | Updated: 31 August 2012, 12:50

The RSPCA have freed a fox that got its head caught in a hole in the floor of a building in Hertfordshire being refurbished.

Builders discovered the fox poking out of the floor at the building at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield on Wednesday 29 August 2012.

It appears the fox had managed to get inside the office area, which was being refurbished, and then under the flooring.

It's thought that when he saw a hole in the floor he decided to make his escape, but sadly only his head would squeeze through it, and suddenly he was jammed stuck.

Builders at the site, on the de Havilland Campus, called the RSPCA and Animal Welfare Officer Kate Wright was sent out to help.

She said: "I have to admit that when I arrived I was faced with a very odd sight. Here was this fox’s head poking out of a floor and he was so jammed he couldn’t move and I just had these big eyes staring at me.

Stuck Fox

"I’m not sure if he had got under the flooring through the foundations, but whatever led him there, his plan to get out through the hole clearly hadn’t worked!

"The builders were amazing and when I said the best thing for the rescue was to remove the floor panel he was stuck in – they sorted it out immediately using crowbars. Then it was a case of me crawling on the floor and trying to then squeeze the fox’s head back through the hole.

"He couldn’t move any other part of his body, so he just sat there watching me the whole time. I actually think he had quite an embarrassed expression on his face. I had to get to the scruff of his neck while trying to avoid wires and eventually after a lot of pushing, I managed to pop one ear through and then finally the next and he was free.

"Then he went berserk! I managed to keep hold of him, before finally getting him in a cage ready to release him at a safe location nearby.

"It certainly was a strange morning, but all part of the job with the RSPCA. He was a beautiful fox, and although his neck was slightly swollen from being stuck, I think it was his pride that was hurt more than anything as he had been outfoxed by a hole. He ran off into the wild, and it was great to think that this was a successful rescue, even though it was one of my more unusual I have had to deal with."