Portsmouth fox needs help from the RSPCA after getting himself stuck under a pontoon at Port Solent

The not-so cunning fox managed to get himself into a pickle after falling into the water at Lock Approach, Port Solent, on October 19 in the early hours of the morning, which was witnessed by two night shift workers who called the RSPCA.

The furry creature managed to scramble himself into a gap in the pontoon – but was unable to get himself back onto dry land.

Inspector Hannah Nixon, came to the lock to try and help the fox but it was impossible to fit a trap down to reach him safely, and by that point, two marine staff members came to the rescue.

They tried to create a partition so there was a smaller area to get to the fox, but the sneaky animal had other ideas and ended up throwing himself into the water.

After boarding the boat, Hannah managed to use a grasper to get the fox to safety and place him in a basket where he was then transferred to RSPCA’s Stubbington Ark.

Hannah said: ‘This poor fox fell and was trapped underneath the pontoon and then he fell in the water. He gave us quite the run-around and then quite the swim-around but finally I managed to use a grasper to bring him to safety on the boat and then transferred him to a local branch to be monitored.

‘Thankfully, he was fine and looking bright-eyed and bushy tailed the next day rather than the drowned rat he was the day before. I was then able to release this little fox back into the wild.’

He spent some time at the Arc to be monitored for possible signs of hypothermia and pneumonia which may have occurred as a result of being exposed to the cold water, but he was given the go all clear and was release back into the wild.

Hannah added: ‘Releasing a wild animal back into the wild is always one of the best parts of the job and I was very pleased this handsome fella could be released so quickly.’