Foxes trapped by netting and rising Thames tide prompt warning from animal charity

A fox was saved from drowning by officers from the RSPCA after getting trapped by a rising tide while another was cut free from a football net.

The animal was surrounded by tidal waters lapping across a strip of sand near a pub in Rotherhithe. The fox was spotted by a passer-by who saw it had fallen off the Thames footpath and beneath a metal beam. Animal rescue officer Ricketts said: "The tide was coming in and we needed to assess the situation quickly. I called the Thames coast guard who gave us permission to access the beach. "Once we were down on the beach I was able to reach the fox and catch it with my grasper pole. I placed it in a basket and myself and ARO Coleman safely lifted it off the beach and onto the footpath. He would have almost certainly drowned if we hadn't got to him. "Foxes are very difficult to catch and we had to plan around the tide and time it right. It was about 10ft down off the footpath and it looks like he’s jumped down to get a bird and has had no way of getting back up.

"He was too quick for us at first, but I got hold of him with my grasper and lifted him up to Neil.

"He was quite lively and while he was damp he wasn’t injured fortunately, so we released him into a park which was about a minute away from the location."

The timely intervention wasn’t the only one of a fox being rescued by the animal charity’s officers in London last week.

They cut free several foxes trapped in football netting. The RSPCA said people should take more care about how they use nets to avoid putting wildlife in peril.

Animal rescue officer Portia Mearns said: "The cub got more tangled up trying to get free. He was dangling down and his back legs were stuck in the netting, but I managed to cut him free and place him in a fox basket. "Apparently, the householder who alerted us has three cubs and their mother living under a slide in the back garden. But the goal netting was broken and a hazard, so we advised them about the dangers they pose.

"We are doing a lot of fox rescues at the moment as it is fox cub season - it can be through abandonments or cubs that have been trapped and injured like this one."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...