SSPCA saves fox cub all tyred out from ordeal trapped in a wheel

A YOUNG fox cub had a lucky escape after being discovered with his head wedged inside a spare wheel.

• Scottish SPCA wildlife assistant Krystal Aitchison handles the freed cub with care

A lorry driver at a Calor Gas depot in Grangemouth discovered the trapped animal when he heard barking and yelping coming from a pile of tyres.

When he discovered the ten-week-old male cub he contacted the Scottish SPCA.

Ambulance driver Jennifer Hamilton tried to rescue the little fox, but his head was so tightly stuck inside the hole that she decided to take the wheel, with the cub still inside to the charity's wildlife rescue centre at Middlebank in Fife. She 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."

Wildlife Rescue Centre manager Colin Seddon said: "This little cub was very lucky to have been discovered as he would have perished otherwise.

"He was a little bit unsteady after we released him from the tyre so we kept him in for observation."

It is thought that the cub had been abandoned in the wheel by the rest of his family.

The cub has been introduced to two other fox cubs in the charity's care, which is hopeful that they can be released together back into the wild.