The 14-year-old boy on a personal mission to protect the hedgehogs vulnerable to extinction

A 14-year-old boy from Monmouthshire is on a mission to raise awareness of hedgehogs and help protect them from the many daily dangers they face.

Dylan Allman has launched his 'Hedgehog Aware' campaign and has been devoting hours of his time to educating and informing people on how they can help protect and nurture hedgehogs, many of which could be in their back gardens.

Hedgehogs are currently on the Red List for British Mammals Credit: Sioux McGee

Hedgehogs are currently on the Red List for British Mammals and are classed as being vulnerable to extinction.

Dylan is keen to get across the message that many hedgehogs die from avoidable gardening incidents and is urging gardeners to be careful when maintaining their green space.

He said: "Hedgehogs curl up in a ball if they feel threatened, which makes them exceptionally vulnerable to injuries or death from strimming.

"We need gardeners to check for hedgehogs every single time they are about to use their strimmer in the garden.

"Putting a sticker on the outside of a box won't help, as most people throw boxes away, but a sticker on the handle will remind them every time they strim."

Hedgehogs are classed as being vulnerable to extinction Credit: PA Images

Dylan's campaign is to mark Hedgehog Awareness Week, an initiative set up by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society which runs from May 2 to May 8.

He has also presented a live social media broadcast from his back garden, offering viewers a tour and showing them how they can make their spaces safer for hedgehogs.

Grace Johnson, Hedgehog Officer for Hedgehog Street said: “Hedgehog Street is all about encouraging people to make small, simple changes in their own gardens to help hedgehogs, such as creating CD-case sized holes in fences. We have over 93,000 volunteer ‘Hedgehog Champions’, and Dylan is a stand-out example of one.

''Dylan is a hugely passionate young conservationist who has already done so much for his local hedgehogs.

''His dedication and enthusiasm for helping ‘hogs is infectious and it’s been a pleasure to hear about what he’s been up to over the last year since discovering during lockdown that there were hedgehogs in his garden.”