Animal rescuers remove fox cub's head from middle of tire

April 21 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers in Britain came to the assistance of a fox cub that spent several days with its head stuck through the middle of a rusty old tire.

The RSPCA said residents in Orpington, England, reported two fox cubs had been born in their garden shed, but the animals' mother hadn't been seen for some time. The family contacted the RSPCA when they found one of the cubs had gotten its head stuck through the middle of an old tire.

"I knew that there was no time to spare. It is likely he had been trapped for several days without food or water, so the little fox needed to be freed as soon as possible," RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Rodney Kenny said. "Young foxes are incredibly curious and we quite often get called out to deal with ones that have got themselves in a pickle."

Kenny said the homeowners carried the fox and tire outside.

"With more space to work in and using liquid soap I was able to gently ease the animal's head back out of the wheel quite quickly and he appeared to be in good condition, despite his ordeal," he said.

Kenny said the cub and its sibling were too young to care for themselves.

"Because the little brother and sister were still too young to fend for themselves, I put them both in a carrier where they snuggled together for comfort, and took them to a specialist wildlife center," he said.