It was a day like any other when Dougie Poynter decided to go out for a stroll.

The McFly bassist found himself walking past the ‘Bulbous Betty’ water fountain in Richmond Hill when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something awry.

A fox had found himself stranded smack bang in the centre of the fountain.

The 3ft wall proved too high for the fox to make his escape.

So in a flash, Dougie was on the phone to the RSPCA, calling for help.

That's when animal collection officer Lisa Miller came to the rescue.

"Rescuing wild animals is all part of the job for me, so when I arrived and saw the poor little fox hiding among the plants on the island in the middle of the fountain, I knew I needed to act fast to save him any more stress," she said.

"Dougie did absolutely the right thing by calling us for help, and he waited by the fountain to keep an eye on the fox until I arrived which was really kind.

“There’s really only way to rescue an animal from the middle of a water fountain. So I rolled up my trouser legs and climbed into the fountain and waded through all the pondweed.

“Luckily it paid off and although my legs were wet through, I managed to carefully pop the fox into a carrier and head back to dry land, where I was able to check him for any signs of ill-health, before releasing him back to the wild in some nearby woodland where he had most likely come from."

Fair to say that Dougie was impressed with what he saw.

“The RSPCA were very responsive, professional and not afraid to jump in a swampy fountain to rescue an animal in danger.”

Anyone who finds an animal in danger can call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.