An extraordinary image has been captured showing a drowned fox encased in a block of ice after it fell into a frozen river, as bitterly cold temperatures sweep across Europe.

The nimal broke through thin ice on the River Danube near Fridingen on 9 January and was discovered four days later.

A member of the public used a saw to cut a cube around the wild animal.

Flights cancelled and village evacuated due to severe weather conditions

Extreme winter weather has gripped southern Germany’s Baden-Württemberg state, where photographer Johannes Stehle captured the image, for more than a week.

Blizzards and dangerously low temperatures have paralysed much of the continent, with more than 60 people killed across Europe by the wintry weather.

Elsewhere on the Danube, Romanian authorities had to stop shipping along a 565 mile stretch because of the ice.

In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK A man works in the snow in the Yorkshire Dales near Hawes In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK A man jogs past the partially frozen Sefton Park Lake in Liverpool PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK A jogger runs through the snow under the Angel of the North in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK A man walks through the snow close to the Angel of the North in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Temperatures drop as night time falls and snow blankets moors in the Peak District near Buxton Getty Images In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Temperatures drop, as night time falls, and snow enhances the complex pattern of fields on the moors in the Peak District near Buxton Getty Images In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK A van waits to be recovered after sliding into a ditch on an icy road in the Peak District near Buxton Getty Images In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Snow blankets the countryside in the Peak District near Buxton Getty Images In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Farmers on the Richmondshire and Cumbria border take feed for the sheep on the Pennine tops with the A66 trans Pennine route in the background as snow falls across many parts of the UK PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK A tractor with a snow plough parked outside the Tan Hill Inn in Swaledale, North Yorkshire as snow falls in the Pennines PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Cars make their way through the snow on the A1 northbound in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, as the UK braced for a new wave of bad weather after forecasters issued warnings of heavy snow in parts of England and Scotland PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Snowfalls over high ground of the Pennines at Tan Hill PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Sue and Chris Betts take their dog for a walk in the snow near Beamish, Tyne and Wear after heavy snow in the area PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Clyde Wind Farm near Abington in Scotland PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Sheep near Abington in Scotland PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Snow in Abington in Scotland as the cold weather hits parts of the UK PA In pictures: Winter weather hits the UK Snow blankets the countryside in the Peak District near Buxton Getty Images

Earlier this week in the US state of Connecticut, a deer had to be rescued from a frozen river.

Coyotes chased the deer onto the thin ice before it fell through a hole, the state’s department of energy and environmental protection said.

The deer pulled itself out of the water at one point but then became stuck with its legs split.