Fox cub found stuck inside wheel

A young fox found trapped inside a discarded lorry wheel is recovering well, the Scottish SPCA have said. A lorry driver at a gas depot in Grangemouth found the 10-week-old fox after hearing yelping coming from a pile of tyres stored at the site. The male cub's head was wedged inside a small hole in the wheel hub.

The SSPCA's Jennifer Hamilton took the wheel, with the fox stuck inside, back to the charity's Middlebank rescue centre where the animal was released. Ms Hamilton said: "After a short time in the back of my van, which was nice and dark and quiet, he calmed right down and staff at our wildlife rescue centre were able to release him without too much trouble. Apart from being a little bit shaken up, he was unharmed and quickly became very active and wild as soon as he was free, which is a really good sign.



"Staff at the depot have spotted mum and her cubs in the area before, so it looks like this little guy got stuck and was left behind." Wildlife rescue centre manager Colin Seddon said the cub was lucky to have been discovered and would have died otherwise.

"He was a little bit unsteady after we released him from the tyre so we kept him in for observation. We've now introduced him to two other fox cubs in our care and we are hopeful that they will all be released when they are at the right age and stage to be able to fend for themselves in the wild."