The poorly hedgehogs being cared for at a Cornwall rescue centre

  • Watch Claire Manning's report

A hedgehog rescue centre in Cornwall is urging people to be careful when using gardening tools as it is seeing an increase in the number of injured animals being brought to them.

Prickles and Paws, near Newquay, says last year was its busiest year ever with triple the number of its hedgehog patients going to them with strimmer injuries.

Hagrid - one hedgehog being cared for the by the charity - only just survived after an incident with a garden strimmer which saw him lose a huge number of his spines.

Hagrid will not be released back into the wild until his spines regrow.

Hagrid has a lot of scar tissue and will only be released back into the wild when his spines grow back.

Hedgehog numbers are in decline and they are classified as vulnerable to extinction in the UK.

Last year, the Cornwall charity had 13,000 admissions - with triple the number of strimmer-related injuries.

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How to prevent injuring hedgehogs while gardening

Co-founder of Prickles and Paws Hedgehog Rescue Centre Katy South said there are simple ways people can help to protect the animals.

"You're not going to find a hedgehog in the middle of your lawn, it's going to be around the edges, near hedgerow and thick undergrowth", she said.

"The main thing to remember is their defence is to curl into a ball - they're not going to run away. So poking around in the undergrowth will not make them disappear."

Former Love Island contestant Lucie Donlan is the new ambassador of Prickles and Paws.

Former Love Island contestant Lucie Donlan is the new ambassador of Prickles and Paws.

She told ITV News she wants to help the younger generation understand the importance of protecting the native species.

"Hedgehogs are declining in the UK and I think not a lot of people know that and so I feel that is one of the reasons why I want to work with Prickles and Paws because I really want to raise awareness of these amazing animals," she said.

"I think with my platform it helps so much to raise awareness, get donations, get more volunteers and just have the younger generation realise and learn how important it is to keep hedgehogs going in the UK because they are in decline and so it is so important to keep them around."