Colleagues at an automotive retailer in Bromley played their part in helping to reunite a local family after routine work on a customer’s car threw up an unexpected surprise.
When technicians at Vertu Ford Bromley on Masons Hill got to work investigating an unexplained electrical issue on a Mustang Mach E, no-one could have expected what was to follow.
As the undertray of the car was removed, the team in the workshop were shocked to suddenly see no fewer than five small fox cubs – four boys and a girls – drop out onto the floor in front of them.
Once the initial shock had subsided, the five cubs were quickly wrapped in blankets and rushed to Bromley Common Vets to be checked over before contact was made with the team from The Fox Project, a Kent-based charity that has worked to support sick and injured foxes, and abandoned fox cubs, for more than 30 years.
Following discussions with the surprised customer, a plan was hatched to try and reunite the youngsters with their mother on the driveway where the car had been parked.
Waiting until night time had arrived, the cubs were placed on the driveway in a heated box and within minutes, the vixen returned to collect her babies and bring her family back together.
Martin Gibson, General Manager at Vertu Bromley Ford, said: “The car came in with an electrical fault after not starting for the customer, and as soon as we took off the undertray, the cubs dropped out.
“At first, our technician thought they might be rats because the cubs are grey, rather than the typical red you would expect of a fox – they gave him quite a fright! But when we saw them clearly, there was no doubt what they were.
“Within two minutes of discovering, the cubs were wrapped up warm in a box with blankets and within ten minutes they were on their way to the nearest vet to make sure they could be looked after.
“I can only think that the mother fox must have been looking for somewhere comfortable for the night, but the cubs had chewed through some cables which had then caused the electrical issue.
“Our workshop has encountered all kinds of issues with vehicles over the years, but a set of fox cubs is a brand new one for us! We’re so happy that they have been reunited with their mother and incredibly grateful to the amazing Fox Project for helping this story have a happy ending.”
Nicki Townsend from the Fox Project said: “We’d like to thank the team at Vertu Ford Bromley for their quick thinking in gathering five fox cubs that fell from the engine compartment of a car they were due to work on Monday morning, and taking them to the vets for help.
“The cubs were then passed on to us, and thanks again to the Vertu team, we were put in touch with the car owner and were able to successfully reunite the cubs with their mother.”
