A BADGER had to be freed by an RSPCA inspector after becoming trapped in a garden in Bere Alston.

The animal was discovered lodged between decking and concrete at the garden in Marythorne Road last Friday when the owners were retrieving a neighbour?s dog who had tried to get under the decking.

The animal was eventually freed after water from a hosepipe was played on it, encouraging it into the open where it was trapped by way of a noose. It was then taken to the RSPCA centre at West Hatch, near Taunton, for treatment.

Janet Kipling, press officer for the RSPCA in Devon, said the badger was a female and had a rump wound.

The inspector had had to be careful, as badgers can give a nasty bite. ?They normally fight at this time of the year, so she was probably hiding there to recuperate,? she explained.

The badger was given anaesthetic, the wound cleaned and antibiotics administered.

Ms Kipling said it would be released near where it had been found in around two to three weeks. ?Hopefully it will be as right as rain,? she said.