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Hilarious footage shows fox giving rescuers the runaround after getting stuck in sewage treatment works

This hilarious video shows a fox giving rescuers the runaround after it got trapped in a sewage works.

Firefighters and RSPCA officers had to try several times to snare the frightened fox as it charged around the waste water site, as well as trying to jump out of the tank, before they finally managed to catch it in a net.

The animal had been stuck in the empty tank at the water works in Barrow, Cumbria since Thursday and a worker raised the alarm when it was still there on Friday morning.

The rescue isn’t the first time a fox has found itself in a predicament - last year the RSPCA had to help a fox that got its head stuck in a bin lid.

The wily fox evaded capture several times in the hilarious footage (Picture: SWNS)
The wily fox evaded capture several times in the hilarious footage (Picture: SWNS)

Firefighters, RSPCA officers and United Utilities employees staged a rescue attempt, climbing into the tank to try and catch the fox so they could take him to safety.

Video footage shows the rescuers chasing the fox around the tank to no avail.

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The RSPCA even tried a humane trap laced with bones and meat but the animal was too scared to take the bait.

Eventually, crews held a sheet of tarpaulin in a bid to stop it from escaping, then two RSPCA officers made their move and managed to catch the fox in a net.

RSPCA officers and firefighters tried repeatedly to snare the fox (Picture: SWNS)
RSPCA officers and firefighters tried repeatedly to snare the fox (Picture: SWNS)

It was put inside the trap and winched out of the tank before being safely released back into the wild.

United Utilities worker Steve Cooper, who spotted the adult male fox, said: “I’ve been watching it all day and night but it just stayed in the corner where it felt safe.

“We see lots of animals down here - badgers and foxes. I’m so pleased it was a happy ending.”

Eventually the crews held up a tarpaulin to try and catch the creature (Picture: SWNS)
Eventually the crews held up a tarpaulin to try and catch the creature (Picture: SWNS)

RSPCA officers said the fox suffered slightly scuffed paws and the best thing would be to release it.

One officer at the scene said: “It would be traumatic for the fox for us to take it away to and if we did have to check it over we would have to sedate it which would also distress the fox. "

Fire boss Ian Westall said firefighters had dubbed the callout ‘Operation Foxtrot’.

He added: “We get called to animal rescues by the RSPCA but it isn’t always cats stuck in trees."