A quick-thinking Bromley boy and his mum saved a tiny fox cub from suffocating after it was found with its head stuck in a glass jar.

Five-year-old Hayk Schliesing was playing in his garden in when he spotted the stricken cub and alerted his mum, Anoush Begoyan-Schliesing.

The youngster saw the fox come under the garden fence with the jar stuck on its head, gasping for air.

The rescued fox, Hayk Schliesing

The rescued fox, Hayk Schliesing

Anoush managed to break the end of the jar so the fox could breathe but the rest of the container was still tight around his neck and could not be removed despite lubricant being used on it.

The animal was extremely distressed and an RSPCA officer used a special window hammer to tap on the glass twice to remove it from around its head.

After the fox was rescued, Anoush said: "Hayk saw the cub squeeze under the fence from our neighbour’s garden and had his head stuck in a large glass jar.

"He came to get me and I rushed out to hear the poor little thing making horrible suffocating noises as he ran out of air.

"I managed to catch him, hold him down and break the jar with a rock so he could breathe again. I blocked him into a corner of our garden and called the RSPCA for help."

Inspector Harriet Dailliday went to Bromley to help and managed to get the remaining body of the jar off the fox.

She said: "Our general advice is that members of the public should monitor wildlife from a safe distance as they can bite or scratch if they’re in distress. However, Hayk and Anoush’s actions most definitely saved this little cub’s life.

"Anoush managed to break the end of the jar so he could breathe but the remaining body of the jar was still tight around his neck and wasn’t budging even with lubricant.

"He was extremely distressed and I was worried about leaving him and transporting him to a vet when I remembered a tool I had in my van.

"I used the special window hammer to tap carefully on the glass twice against the rim and managed to remove it from his head.

"Thankfully once he was free he seemed uninjured but his breathing was quite raspy so I took him to South Essex Wildlife Hospital for a check-up and monitoring until he’s ready to be released."

The cub will stay in care of the animal hospital while it is rehabilitated and will be released once old enough to survive in the wild.

Harriet praised Hayk's actions, adding: "Hayk was an absolute superstar and certainly did the right thing alerting his mum. Anoush did incredibly well and, no doubt, saved this little cub’s life.

"This is a great lesson for the public and a reminder of why it’s so important to dispose of rubbish responsibly.

"Litter can be incredibly hazardous for wild animals and pets and we receive thousands of calls every year to help animals who have been injured or become trapped in litter."

Anoush begged people not to litter as it endangers wildlife and pets.

She added: "Please don’t leave rubbish lying around in your gardens, especially food, as it attracts wildlife and could be dangerous for them.

"In this case someone had tossed out a jar with some food still in it. Our little guy was lucky, he managed to make his way into our garden and we found him in time and managed to help him.

"But if Hayk wasn’t in the garden at that time this story could have had a different ending."