Fire crew rescues fox stuck between patio and house in Hatfield

Dent said it was a “very, very difficult rescue mission” that was “out of the norm” even for his team – which is the fire service’s main animal rescue wing in Hertfordshire.

“It took us a while to be able to see the little fella. Someone’s dog had sniffed out a fox – we could see its face when we shone a torch down.

“It was a little bit scared, but seemed quite comfortable.

“We don’t want to start ripping up people’s back gardens or destroying property, so we had to try and encourage the fox to go backwards, which was very difficult.

“The RSPCA managed to get a handler around its neck to stop it going forward, otherwise it would have become even more stuck.”