Sussex wildlife volunteers free fox which got head stuck in wheel

The young wild mammal was found to have its head through the central hole in a metal wheel – which still had the tyre attached – in Shoreham-by-Sea, according to the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS).

The WRAS received a call around 5.30pm last Thursday (May 25) and asked volunteers from Brighton & Hove Wildlife Advice & Rescue Service (WARS) if they would attend and help.

“The fox was held securely and transported to East Sussex WRAS’s Casualty Centre at Whitesmith near Lewes,” a WRAS spokesperson said.

"The fox’s face was clearly swollen and there was a wound behind one ear due to being stuck.”

A vet administered anaesthetic to ‘help make the fox’s removal easier’ and ‘less stressful for the fox’.

The fox’s head was ‘manipulated slowly’ and carefully bending the ears in order to free the head.

Lead casualty manager, Katie Nunn Nash, said: “The swelling reduced over the following 24 hours and the wound behind the cub’s ear started to expand as the skin broke down due to pressure necrosis.

"In these circumstances it is common for such wounds to get worse before they get better. The fox in herself was certainly feeling much better.”

WRAS’s Care Team and vet have been closely monitoring the fox and the wound is now expected to fully recover and will eventually be able to return to the wild once fully recovered.

WRAS operations director, Trevor Weeks MBE, praised the actions and dedication everyone involved in the rescue and fox’s care.

“Our staff and the volunteers both at East Sussex WRAS at Brighton & Hove WARS are amazingly dedicated and helpful,” he said.

"We take on so many casualties from Brighton & Hove now as a result of Rogers Wildlife Rescue closing down helping to saving thousands of wild animals and birds from suffering as a result.

"Like all wildlife rescue organisations up and down the country we are all exceptionally busy at this time of year – it is non-stop rescues.

"It’s quite tiring and exhausting for everyone. I don’t think people appreciate quite how much effort and energy is put in by everyone in this industry.”

Brighton & Hove Wildlife Advice & Rescue Service can be supported via www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lisa-barrow-229.

East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service can be supported at www.wildlifeambulance.org.

Have you read?: West Sussex village residents stand against developers after amended housing plans

​Shoreham says fond farewell to ‘remarkable’ post office owner after 34 years in the family business

Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in May 2023