Charity opens £300,000 'Hogspital' rescue centre

A new and improved hedgehog rescue and rehabilitation centre has opened, allowing it to care for more of the prickly animals.

Director Katy South said Prickles & Paws Hedgehog Rescue in Newquay, Cornwall, was originally running from her mum's back garden.

She said the new £300,000 centre at Carnanton meant the charity could care for more hedgehogs, with up to 1,400 passing through each year.

"The need seems to be continually growing," she said. "We admit from the entirety of Cornwall and across the border into Devon as well.

"We never want to turn away a hedgehog. We always want to be able to accommodate and make space and this new building is going to allow us to do that."

The new 'hogspital' had been funded by donations and fundraisers, she said.

She added it had 14 incubators, an oxygen incubator and pre-release areas as well.

"The whole rehabilitation process can take place on site," she said.

Co-founder Diane South said the charity saw a lot of garden-related injuries at this time of year.

"We currently have three hedgehogs in with injuries from strimmers," South said.

In a post on social media, the charity said a hedgehog's natural defence was to curl up into a ball, not to run away, which leaves them vulnerable to garden tools.

It urged people to check long grass and move piles of leaves before strimming.

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