Fox cub rescued from Yorkshire Water wastewater treatment works

A fox cub has been rescued and reunited with its mother after getting into trouble at Yorkshire Water’s Blackburn Meadows wastewater treatment works in Sheffield.

The cub became stuck in an empty storm holding tank and was unable to escape. Yorkshire Water’s Dan Wilde, Oliver Snow and Michael West worked together with the RSPCA to catch the cub and reunite it with its mother, which had waited nearby during the rescue attempt.

It is thought the cub has been trapped for more than 24 hours before being rescued and the RSPCA advised he may have died if left for a further 24 hours.

Dan Wilde, a customer field services technician at Yorkshire Water, said: “When we spotted the little cub trapped in the storm holding tank, we knew we had to rescue him. We were predicted wet weather and knew the tank would begin to fill if we didn’t act quickly.

“Thankfully we were able to work with the RSPCA and catch him after an hour chasing him round the tank and it was great to reunite him with his mother, which had waited beside the tank while he was trapped.”