Builders tasked with some routine groundwork near London’s Canary Wharf had left a couple of ground holes open, so when they heard the cries of a young animal, they knew where to look.

They peeked into one of the deep, muddy holes and found a small helpless animal. They had no idea it was a four-month-old fox cub caked in mud and petrified.

The fox had been trapped with no chance of escape, covered in thick layers of dried mud from head to toe. The builders got him out, and then they were off to South Essex Wildlife Hospital. He was nursed with food, water and a much-needed bath, and christened ‘Muddsey’.

Once hardly recognisable under all that sludge, his adorable face now shone through after a good cleaning!

One worker said: “None of us knew how long he had been down that hole — it could have been all weekend.”