Cute but 'grotty and smelly' baby hedgehogs need you

Baby hedgehogs across the UK are hoping there will be room at the inn this Christmas, with hundreds needing a warm refuge after being born too late to hibernate this winter.

Campaigners are warning that the tiny spiky creatures, known as hoglets, may freeze to death if sanctuaries are not found for them in time.

The warm autumn meant many hedgehogs had a second litter this year, too late in the calendar for their offspring to gain enough weight to survive the cold of winter.

Hedgehogs, once frequently spotted in parks and backyards, have seen their numbers roughly halve since 2000.

However, an increase in public awareness means more hoglets and unwell adults are being handed into rescue centres, with sanctuaries reporting a rise of 22% in needy hedgehogs being brought in.

The number of hoglets who need assistance will outstrip the number of rescue centres which has led to a call for people across the country to welcome the critters into their sheds and garages.

Tracy Dunne and husband Jim run Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue in Dorset.

Hedgehogs in need have taken over their four-bed home, with around 170 of them squeezed in.

Speaking to The Times, Mrs Dunne, 58, whose living room now functions as an intensive care unit for the small mammals, said looking after the hedgehogs had become a full-time job and dreams of a cruise had been postponed.

She said: "For me it is a constant round of cleaning and feeding, 20 hours a day, while my husband administers medical treatment, picking maggots from wounds, clearing them up and keeping records."

Mrs Dunne continued: "The foster carers are really helping to lighten the load. However, it is hard to keep up. Typically we will get 10 hedgehogs out to foster one day, then eight new ones will be brought in the next day.

"We really need more foster carers so we do not have to turn any hedgehogs away."

Mrs Dunne, a retired carer, offered a word of caution for any prospective hedgehog rescuers.

She warned: "It's not always pretty. Hedgehogs are not litter trained. They are grotty, grubby and smelly.

"They poo a lot and they eat meat which makes for a particularly smelly poo.

"They then tend to track around in it and wander round the cage, snuffling and scratching at the bedding, spreading it all over the cage."