EAST Croydon Station isn't necessarily where you'd expect to find a tiny orphaned fox cub.
But, among the rush of tipsy Friday night revellers and briefcase-wielding suits returning from a long day at work, this little doe-eyed creature was crying for help.
The cub, discovered at around 9pm, was saved from a lonely, motherless death by the Riverside Animal Centre, which came to pick it up within 15 minutes of being called.
Our reporter came across the tiny fox in the arms of a ticket warden, who was concerned for the animal's welfare and suspected its mother had been run over or lost its cub.
He said at the time: "I have rung the RSPCA but they won't help because they don't look after wild animals."
After developing a bit of an attachment to the pointy-faced fluffball – which we christened Felix – we called an animal centre which looks after lost or hurt wild animals.
The week before, the Riverside Animal Centre in Wallington had featured in the pages of the Advertiser after rescuing a fox which had got stuck, dangling upside down from a fence by its tail.
In February, they also rescued one of London's most famous foxes, which had made a home at 954ft in the Shard near London Bridge – Europe's tallest skyscraper.
Two reporters called the animal centre in the hope someone might be able to give some advice on what to do with Felix.
To their amazement, the wife of an animal rescuer from Riverside drove out to Croydon immediately and came to pick up the fox cub.
Jess Bickerstaff, who works at the centre, said: "We look after the wild animals until they are better and then release them back into the wild.
"If they came in as adults, we take them back to where they came from and if they are youngsters, we release them into the wild in suitable places."
However, the tale of Felix may be set for a sad ending.
On Tuesday Ted Burden, the founder and director of the centre, told us: "The little cub you found wasn't well and had a couple of fits on Saturday followed by another on Sunday.
"It is still having short fits maybe once or twice a day and is on various medication.
"Unfortunately, we cannot tell at this stage whether it is a congenital thing like epilepsy, or as a result of an infection.
"The only thing we know is that, when it's not fitting, it is lively and appears in good health, which sadly isn't necessarily a great sign as that may rule out something treatable."
