£480 raised to protect hedgehogs by Shipton Gorge residents

Residents of Shipton Gorge have raised £480 to raise awareness and provide a safe haven for hedgehogs.

The £380 cheque was presented to Chris and Pete Legg of Prickly Pickles by Chris Griffiths-Hardman

The funds were raised courtesy of attendees at one of Shipton Gorge's community coffee mornings with £100 going towards the purchase of Hedgehog Awareness Road Signs and £380 to Prickly Prickles Hedgehog Rescue in Dorchester.

Three hoglets were released back into the wild last month after being found cold and close to death in Shipton Gorge in April. They were taken to Prickly Prickles where they were fed by drops of milk on the end of a syringe, spent time on a heated pad and were cared for until they achieved a healthy weight to be released once again.

The hedgehogs were taken in by Prickly Prickles where they were nursed back to health Picture: Chris Griffiths-Hardman

Prickly Prickles is a self funded hedgehog rescue, run by Chris Legg. She has had as many as 30 hedgehogs at one and works to save as many as she can, before reintroducing them into safe environments, such as Shipton Gorge.

The cheque was delivered by Chris Griffiths-Hardman of the Shipton Gorge Hedgehog Group.