TWO vet nurses helped free a fox after it became trapped in a deadly snare.

Jenny Stone, a veterinary nurse at the Tiptree Veterinary Centre, was driving along West End Road in the village when she saw the vixen at the side of the road.

She thought it was dead, but then noticed the animal trying to move its head.

She said: “I called up Yvonne Jones, who is practice manager at the surgery and said I couldn’t just leave her there.

“The RSPCA said they would be three hours, but she would have been dead by then. I went to the surgery to pick up the ambulance, some sedation and a muzzle, and went back with Yvonne to get her out safely.”

It was not clear at first what was trapping the female fox, but on closer inspection it was discovered she had been caught in a snare.

Jenny said: “She was wrapped in wire.

“A kind man gave us some wire cutters and a saw, but the wire was caught all around her neck.

“We sedated her and took her back to the surgery, and realised it was a snare – but not an illegal one.”

Thankfully the vixen was in good condition and did not require any treatment apart from antibiotics.

It was discovered she had not long given birth and the vets wanted to reunite her with her youngsters.

Jenny said: “She clearly had cubs somewhere as she was full of milk.

“We wanted to get her back to her babies so we gave her some antibiotics and took her back to where we found her.

“It took her a while to come round, but then she just trotted off.”