He had been called to help when it was found unconscious in a garden. His immediate diagnosis was that it had been poisoned.

But after rushing to victim back to his animal sanctuary and consulting a vet, Mr Cornick discovered that it wasn't dying - just dead drunk.

The fox had been spotted lurching across a lawn in Shere, Surrey.

The householder watched as it tottered, bumped into trees and finally keeled over.

The fox had been scrumping in an orchard and the fruit had fermented, turning to alchohol.

Mr Cornick's wife Lyn said yesterday: 'We thought he was poisoned and going to die.

'The people who found him said they looked out of the window and saw him staggering around and drooling.

'Suddenly his legs went from under him and he collapsed in a heap on the lawn.

'We noticed squashed apples on his coat and when we felt his stomach you could make out the contents - dozens of apples. He was completely stuffed.'

The Cornicks were foxed over what would be an appropriate remedy. So they phoned a vet who suggested they give him liquid paraffin to bring the apples up and plenty of black coffee for his hangover.

'The next day he looked really grumpy and could hardly lift his head,' said Mrs Cornick.

'He had a terrible hangover which has lasted three days. But he's all right today and we've released him back into the wild.'