Newborn hoglets released back into wild after rescue from Grantham park

Six baby hedgehogs have been released back into the wild after being rescued from a park in Grantham two months ago.

The orphaned hoglets were found by gardeners Ross and Paddy in Dysart Park, in June.

They were referred to Hedgehog Welfare in Grantham before being taken in by Sally Key, one of their hedgehog carers alongside Janet Peto, who runs the rescue centre.

Janet said: "They were no more than 10 days old and their eyes had not opened yet."

The hoglets were each given a name; Pine, Monkey, Puzzle, Magnolia, Spruce, Poplar and little Spindle, the smallest of them all weighing just 67g.

All six survived after being bottle-fed around the clock by a team of dedicated volunteers.

Janet added: "They have all have made it through and over the last few days they have all been released into some lovely gardens with very caring people.

"Their weights when they came in were 67g to 88g and they were all now over 550g, so a good start to their new life in the wild, with a little help from now on from humans."

If you want to help hedgehogs, Sally suggests leaving a shallow dish of water out at night to stop them from getting dehydrated.

Janet Peto has been looking after hedgehogs for over 40 years. She founded Hedgehog Welfare in 1993 and gives talks and training on hog care. For more information, call Janet on 07940 7 14830.