Fox rescued after getting stuck in slurry pit at sewage plant

A fox had to be rescued after becoming stuck in a slurry pit at a sewage plant in Atherstone, Warwickshire. The RSPCA and firefighters joined forces to save the wild animal, which is thought to have been stuck all night long.



Officers from the animal charity were called to the Severn Trent plant in the Carlyon Industrial Estate on Wednesday after a worker spotted the female juvenile fox struggling to wade through the slurry. RSPCA inspector Nicola Johnson, who attended the incident, said: “Who knows how this fox managed to get herself into this fix, perhaps she slipped and had an accidental tumble.





“But she was completely stuck when I found her - and there was no way she would have been able to make her way out without help. As soon as I assessed the situation I knew that we would require the help of the fire service as well, because I would not have been able to have got the fox out on my own. The Alpha Watch team from Atherstone fire station were absolutely fantastic. They managed to get her out using an extended long pole and a net, bringing her to safety.



“She was absolutely covered in muck from the slurry. She was exhausted and shivering and may well have been there all night. We put a fleecy blanket round her and transferred her up to Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre. The fire rescue team did a brilliant job, as did the Severn Trent staff - they pumped water into the bottom of the slurry pit to help lift the fox up higher, and this worked.” Once out and taken to the wildlife centre, the fox was cleaned down and will now be released back in to the wild.