The 'most tangled fox ever seen' has been rescued from football nets on a playing field.

The tangled animal was spotted by Fiona Hollyman in Bristol who called the RSPCA.

She said: ''The fox was in distress, struggling to escape.

"It had a bloodshot eye and a bleeding mouth from struggling to get free, possibly for many hours. The net was bloodstained.

"I checked with the visiting team and apparently it’s normal practice to take nets down or tie them up to prevent exactly this."

Deputy Chief Inspector Simon Coombs said: "I have to say this was the most tangled fox I’ve ever seen.

''This poor fox had well and truly got himself stuck in this netting, it was hard to tell which way up he was at first as he was so severely tangled.

"Thankfully, he wasn’t injured and I was able to cut him free and release him there and then.

“Netting such as goal nets pose a real hazard to our wildlife and sadly many wild animals get trapped in them.

"To prevent this from happening, we encourage people to remove the nets after use and store them safely away."