Badger rescued in Uckfield after falling 10ft into a water treatment tank

The black and white nocturnal animal fell over 10ft down into the bottom of a, luckily empty, circular concrete treatment tank at Southern Water’s treatment works on Monday (February 7).

Staff on site discovered the badger around 9:30am and alerted the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (East Sussex WRAS) who promptly sent experienced rescuers Trevor Weeks MBE and Keith Ring.

Keith said: “These rescues can be difficult, and we were not quite sure what we were going to face when we arrived. The initial report was that the badger had shallow breathing and could have been in a bad way."

Once on site Southern Water staff provided a ladder for Keith and Trevor to climb down into the tank with rescue equipment.

Keith used a bright yellow stretcher to help encourage the poorly sighted badger towards Trevor so that he could catch the badger in a net. Once caught the badger had to be secured into a transportation crate and lifted to safety using a rope and ladder.

Trevor Weeks said: “This is easier said than done as badgers are very strong animals. They don’t have a scruff like foxes so can be difficult to control."

The badger was then transported in one of WRAS’s veterinary ambulances to East Sussex WRAS’s Casualty Centre down the road at Whitesmith, where it was checked over by their vet Lourdes Cortes Saez MRCVS.

Lourdes said: “The badger is in a good condition and clearly none the worse for his fall into the tank, so there is no reason for him to stay in care. It would not be safe to release him during the day, so our rescuers released him late at him when the roads are quieter and its safer for him to run back home.”

Rescuers returned to the A22 next to the treatment works in Uckfield late Monday night to release the badger back into the wild.

Trevor continued: “The badger could have come from any direction and as we wouldn’t want him being run over the safest place to release him was at the roadside where he can cross in a controlled manner safely.

“A huge thank you to the helpful staff at Southern Water for noticing the badger and calling us in straight away. This badger was very lucky he was not seriously injured, but thanks to the quick actions of Southern Water and our rescuers we were able to ensure the badger’s safe rescue and return to the wild."

Southern Water has thanked the team at East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service for coming out to site so quickly and freeing the badger and said it is delighted with the positive outcome and to hear the badger was released unharmed shortly after.

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