Lympstone attracts some prickly visitors

This weekend saw a spate in hedgehog emergencies around Lympstone, two of which were taken to Prickly Ball Farm Hedgehog Hospital in Ogwell, near Newton Abbot.

Results from the People's Trust for Endangered Species or PTES' Mammals on Roads survey is showing that hedgehogs in rural England are declining at a very rapid rate.

PTES and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society are carrying out a nationwide public participation survey of hedgehogs called HogWatch. For those locals who have hedgehogs visit or nest in their garden, HogWatch would like to know about it. You can record a sighting at Hogwatch.

Residents of Lympstone have reported a number of sightings and three have been rescued this week, after wandering out of their territory. Fran Lowery, mum of two, has an allotment in the village. She said: "We found one tied up the strawberry netting, rescued it, took it home and fed it for a week, and then released it back into the allotment."

Richard Grace, 34, found a juvenile hedgehog down a drain on his driveway. He said: "I was just clearing up some leaves from around the drain on our drive, and noticed something was down there. I didn't know if it was a rat or a hedgehog at first. 

"I pulled out a hedgehog and she was shaking and obviously quite distressed. We weren't really sure what to do with her.  My wife had seen Prickly Ball Farm on TV about ten years ago and always remembered it, so we thought we should take her over there.

"It was a bit of a chore at the time but when we got to the hospital, it was obvious we had done the right thing. She'll get really good care there."

Stephanie said: "Gracie wasn't our first emergency to come in from the other side of the Exe. A man brought one over on the back of his motorbike, found between Lympstone and Topsham just the day before."

The farm is self-funded, a family-run businesses, and in order to keep visitors coming, a large proportion of income is spent on the star attractions, such as ponies, goats and pigs. The food, care, treatment and rehabilitation of wild hedgehogs costs over £20,000 a year.

Prickly Ball Farm, in Newton Abbot, which has appeared on National TV and was taken over by Stephanie Hutton, 13 weeks ago, has had a recent influx of patients - some of whom require intensive care.

Stephanie said: "It's very difficult to get hold of second-hand incubators, or new ones, and hedgehogs get cold very quickly and so we like to pair them up, if possible, in an incubator. If they can't be paired, then we put them on a heat pad.

"Baby hedgehogs need to be given goats milk through a syringe, a very narrow one, too - which are difficult to come across."

Open from 1st April until 1st November, the farm offers children a chance to cuddle furry animals, stroke a gerbil, rabbit or chinchilla, as well as groom a pony or walk a goat or ferret. There are also children's play areas, picnic benches and a gift shop.

And if you go early enough in the morning, you might even be able to help feed the hedgehogs and visit Gracie, from Lympstone, to see how she's doing after her rescue from the drain. Visit Prickly Ball Farm for more information.