Fox freed from floorboard

The RSPCA has said it was "faced with a very odd sight" when called to rescue a fox trapped in a floorboard. Builders spotted the trapped animal's head poking out of a hole in the floor while renovating an office at the University of Hertfordshire, in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.



It is thought the fox was trying to wriggle through a section of flooring when it became stuck at the de Havilland campus. RSPCA animal welfare officer Kate Wright, who freed the animal, said: "I just had these big eyes staring at me."

She added: "Here was this fox's head poking out of a floor and he was so jammed he couldn't move. I actually think he had quite an embarrassed expression on his face." After builders used crowbars to pull up the flooring panel, the animal was pulled free, transferred to a cage and released at a safe location nearby.



Ms Wright added: "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. 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."