Fox in the box gets tangled in Bristol goal net

It was hard to tell which way up the fox was, the RSPCA said

A fox that became trapped in a football net has been cut free by an RSPCA inspector.

The animal was found in the net at Stoke Lodge Playing Fields in north Bristol on Saturday.

Det Ch Insp Simon Coomb said: "This was the most tangled fox I've ever seen. The fox had well and truly got itself stuck.

"It was hard to tell which way up he was ... as he was so severely tangled. Thankfully, he wasn't injured."

Once freed the fox immediately ran off, he said.

"Netting such as goal nets pose a real hazard to our wildlife and sadly many wild animals get trapped in them.

"To prevent this from happening, we encourage people to remove the nets after use and store them safely away."

The RSPCA said it often had to remove trapped animals such as birds, cats and hedgehogs from nets, occasionally after they had been stuck overnight and sustained serious injuries.