Unlucky fox cub gets its head stuck in sink plug hole

The fox cub with its head stuck in a large sink plughole in a homeowners garden
A curious fox cub found itself in an unusual predicament - after its head became stuck in a sink plughole -Credit:South Essex Wildlife Hospital


A fox cub has been freed by a local wildlife hospital after its head became stuck in a sink plug hole. The cub had to be freed by a wildlife hospital with some "delicate ear-folding" when it became stuck in the ceramic basin in a garden in Basildon, Essex for several hours.

Photos show the fox peering up looking very sorry for itself as its back half sits free of the disused sink last week. The animal had injured its front paws and had a swollen neck after trying to escape but was treated by South Essex Wildlife Hospital (SEWH), in Orlett.

A spokesperson for SEWH said: "It seemed that the homeowners were sorting out a shed and happened to leave it lying sideways when the poor creature decided to stick his head inside. Waking up the next morning to find the poor cub trapped, they called us out and our head vet Tom rushed over to help."

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"As strange as it sounds, we have actually done this sort of rescue a few times and, with a little help and some delicate ear-folding, Tom managed to get him free. Back at our hospital in Orsett, Tom fixed the damage to the paws and started the cub on a treatment plan to combat any ill effect.

The fox looking very sad peering up from the sink it was trapped in
The cub had to be freed by a wildlife hospital with some "delicate ear-folding" when it became stuck in the ceramic basin in a garden in Basildon -Credit:South Essex Wildlife Hospital

"We're thrilled to say that this worked wonders and, two days after his entrapment, he was able to be released home to his family."

SEWH deal with more than 10,000 admissions from unwell wildlife each year and said the sink has now been moved to a different area of the homeowner's garden.