A group of badgers were successfully rescued and released back into the wild after they fell 16ft into an empty sewage tank.

Animal rescue officers were alerted to the badgers when the staff at Scottish Water sewage works in Lanark called for assistance.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were called to assist with the rescue as the tank could not be safely accessed without their help.

Animal rescue officer, Dawn-Vale Juma, said, “We received a call from the team at Scottish Water who had spotted three badgers curled up at the bottom of an empty 16ft deep sewage tank.

“The tank was inaccessible so we called the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for assistance. Thankfully, the crew from Lanark fire station arrived quickly and were happy to help.”

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Station Commander Philip McDonald said: “As a humanitarian organisation, we will always assist the Scottish SPCA when required to help an animal in distress.

"Our response can prevent members of the public putting themselves in danger by attempting to do their own rescue. Firefighters are trained for these types of incidents and we are pleased that we were able to help out in this instance."

The crew helped by lowering a ladder into the tank so an inspector could climb down and transfer the badgers safely into carriers.

Animal rescue officer, Dawn-Vale Juma continued, “One of the male badgers had managed to find shade in a tunnel so was very lively – so lively in fact that he destroyed the bottom of the cage! He was checked over and released on to a badger trail that ran parallel to the facility.

“Unfortunately, the other two badgers were exposed to the sun and were very lethargic and dehydrated. They were caught and taken to our national wildlife rescue centre at Fishcross to receive the care they needed.

“A few days later, after plenty of TLC, they were released back into the wild near to where they were found.”