Hedgehogs at risk from food scarcity, habitat loss and badgers

Experts say hedgehogs face crisis in towns and countryside, as RSPB records fewer sightings of the animals for third year in a row

During the day they curl up in nests of shredded paper but when night falls those that are well enough scurry and snuffle around the old fish boxes that serve as their temporary homes.

These hedgehogs at the RSPCA's West Hatch animal centre in Somerset have had a tough time of it. Some have tangled with dogs, strimmers, bonfires, fruit netting or vehicles; others have been brought in as tiny unseeing hoglets, having lost their parents.