Hedgehog nearly burns alive in Pevensey Bay bonfire

Residents spotted the creature crawling for its life out of the fiery woodpile in their Pevensey Bay garden.

They called wildlife rescue charity WRAS (East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service) and rescuer Thea Taylor rushed to the scene.

She said, “When I arrived I checked the hedgehog over and it was clear he had been one very lucky hedgehog!

“There were lots of burnt spikes, he was suffering from smoke inhalation, and on first glance it didn’t look like the skin was badly affected, so I rushed the hedgehog back to WRAS’s casualty centre.”

Once at the centre in Whitesmith, casualty manager Karen Francis checked the hedgehog, weighing over 1 kilo in weight, for burns and other injuries.

She said, “I couldn’t find anything serious but he had a lot of burnt spines which smelt horrible.”