Fox gets lodged in the back of vet's dishwasher and refuses to come out

'Petrified' cub was looking for food when it got stuck in back of appliance

The frightened fox looked desperately for a way out of the appliance (Simon Hayes/Twitter)

A fox cub had to be rescued after it became lodged in the back of a dishwasher while searching for food.

The four-month-old fox crept into the Enfield home of vet Dr Simon Hayes, and managed to get itself stuck in a tight spot when the father of three walked out of the kitchen.

Dr Hayes had to use his expertise with animals to coax it out of the dishwasher, before documenting the unusual incident online.

In a blog post, the vet wrote: “At 10pm on Sunday evening, loading the dishwasher as normal, I got distracted and went out the room for a few minutes.

“When I came back, there he was, a little fox cub probably 4-5 months old sitting in the dishwasher. He must have come in the open back door and been looking for food.

“Poor thing was petrified and kept trying to chew on the racks. I tried to see if he would let me pick him up but he was obviously too scared."

Dr Hayes also posted a video of the incident to YouTube, showing the cub backing itself into a corner of the machine and scowling at any attempts to remove it.

The vet continued: “I love all animals, but I'm not sure my dishwasher is the best place to keep a fox, so I went to get a broom and gently coaxed him out.

“He ran into the garden and I could hear his mum calling so they must have been reunited.”

The story was first revealed on Facebook by staff at the Village Vet London practice in Winchmore Hill, where Mr Hayes is head vet.

A local Charlie Greaves commented: “A close brush with death there - imagine if the dishwasher was turned on with the little guy inside!"