Volunteers from local charity - The Nutkin Ward - rescue injured fox from Banbury neighbourhood

Volunteers from the wildlife rescue charity The Nutkin Ward along with help from some local residents rescued an injured fox from a neighbourhood in Banbury earlier this week.

The charity was contacted after concerns were raised on social media about an injured fox in the Bretch Hill area of Banbury.

Tess Merry, who founded the charity, said: "On Tuesday evening we were contacted by an Edinburgh Way resident who had managed to contain the fox in her lean to. We were able to attend and rescue the fox and she was taken back to the Nutkin Ward.

"With a nasty tail injury, she was given pain relief and settled into a warm kennel with food and water over night."

The fox was taken to local Banbury vet where she received an X-ray and further treatment.

"Sadly the X-ray showed a bad fracture to the tail but more significantly an air rifle pellet located very close to her spine. She has been shot by someone.

"Upon recovery from her sedation she was transferred back to the Nutkin Ward for further treatment. Prognosis is very guarded at the moment but we will give her pain relief, antibiotics, some time and TLC in the hope she makes a full recovery. Sadly it is unlikely that we will be able to return her to her home territory because of the air rifle injury.

"Huge thanks as always go Hawthorn Lodge vets for their help and all the vets in the surrounding area in their continued support of our work.”

After the fox's recovery from its injuries the charity hopes to release it to a safe territory with permission of a local area landowner.

The Nutkin Ward helps all wounded or injured wildlife, including hedgehogs, swans, deer, fox cubs, tawny owls and badgers.

The wildlife charity was set up by Tess Merry in 2010, in response to a need for local wildlife care in North Oxfordshire, and has been operating from Middleton Cheney and more recently a location near Daventry.

Tess is a registered veterinary nurse, with more than 20 years wildlife care experience. She provides the best possible care for injured animals, with the hope that they can be released back into the wild as soon as they're fully recovered. They help as many 1,500 animals a year.

The charity relies completely on donations. Anyone who can help the charity can make a donation to them using PayPal ([email protected]) or by contacting the charity directly through Facebook.

For more information about the wildlife rescue charity see its Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Thenutkinward