Badgers rescued from garden pool

RSPCA inspectors have warned pool owners to put on safety covers over the winter following the rescue of two badgers in Cornwall.

They said even empty pools posed a danger to animals that entered the pools after officers and firefighters were called to help free the badgers, which were unable to climb out after tumbling into the pool in Truro.

They may have been trapped for several days and were found huddled together, said Felicity Cross, an RSPCA Animal Welfare Officer.

“The owner of the property was unsure how long they had been in there as he doesn’t go out the back very frequently, but we think they may have been stuck there for two or three days,” she said.

“Both were huddled together at the drier end as the pool had a fair amount of moss, mud and rainwater in it.”

The creatures wasted no time in returning to their sett once rescued.