A quick thinking RSPCA inspector used a makeshift ladder in order to rescue a badger which had fallen down an uncovered manhole at a Leicester cemetery.
The incident happened at Gilroes Cemetery and Crematorium last Tuesday (February 14).
The badger had fallen down an uncovered manhole close to the cemetery and a worried member of the public who worked nearby called the RSPCA to help.
Inspector Herchy Boal attended the location and found the badger in the hole “staring back up at her.”
Worried that the badger could be female so either pregnant or just given birth – she decided the best way to get the mammal out was by creating a makeshift ladder for them.
So she placed two large tree branches down the hole – which would enable the badger to climb out on their own – when they felt safe and no one else was around.
And the plan worked. The caller happily reported later that day that the badger had indeed climbed up the branches and ran off towards the cemetery.
The inspector said it was one of the more unusual jobs she has had in her 23-year career.
And there was a poignant twist to the tale, as the incident happened three years to the day since her father’s funeral at the cemetery, which sits on Groby Road, Leicester.
“When the RSPCA call centre told me where the job was I was a bit taken back – given it was the third anniversary of my dad’s funeral and this rescue was at the same place he had been cremated – it was a very weird twist of fate,” said Ms Boal.
“I almost felt like my dad would have been watching me do the rescue – he was always so very proud of my work as an inspector and he was also such a huge animal lover, it all seemed too much of a coincidence for this rescue to have been there on the same day.
“It did make me smile when I thought about how my dad could be watching over me doing the job he loved me doing so much. It was a very special rescue for me – and I always love a happy ending when wildlife are returned safely back to the wild,” she added.
