East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) was called out in the early hours of Tuesday 19th May after a fox cub fell into a basement light well at an address in Hove.
WRAS’s out-of-hours rescuers Trevor and Kristy Weeks attended the incident at around 3am and carefully rescued the young fox from the basement area. The cub was assessed and, thankfully, appeared bright, alert and uninjured.
This was not the first time WRAS has attended the location. Over the past five years, the charity has been called to the same address five times after foxes have fallen into the basement light well. Remarkably, none of the foxes have sustained serious injuries, and all but one have been able to be released back on site without needing admission to WRAS’s Casualty Centre.
After being lifted safely back to ground level, the cub was released onto a known pathway used by the local fox family to move between gardens. As it was still very early in the morning, with few cars or people around, the cub was able to run off safely back towards the area where its family is regularly seen.
Trevor Weeks MBE, Founder of East Sussex WRAS, said:
“This is one of those locations we know quite well now, as foxes have unfortunately fallen into the same basement area several times over the years. Thankfully, this little cub was very lucky and appeared to have escaped injury. Because the fox family is regularly seen in the area, and it was quiet at that time of the morning, the best outcome was to return the cub safely back to the route it would normally use.”
WRAS has previously visited the site during daylight hours to assess the layout and advise on possible ways to prevent foxes from falling in. However, due to the nature of the property, there are no easy solutions.
Trevor added:
“Urban foxes often use walls, fences and narrow gaps to travel between gardens, especially at night. Cubs of this age are starting to explore and we wouldn’t expect them to be with their mum constantly now. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead them into trouble. These early-morning call-outs are only possible because of the support we receive from the public, which helps keep our ambulances on the road and our rescue line operating.”
East Sussex WRAS is asking the public to support its work so it can continue responding to wildlife emergencies across the county.
To support East Sussex WRAS and help rescuers be there for the next 3am emergency, please donate at:
www.wildlifeambulance.org
