AN animal rescue charity based at the edge of Newton Abbot is urging people to do all they can to support hedgehog as the mammal becomes more active with the milder conditions.

Classed as vulnerable, hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal, becoming active from dusk until dawn, particularly between April and October when they forage and mate.

As such, ELM Wildlife is reminding people of the steps they can take to best help them.

‘If we don’t give them the support they need we are looking at a future without them!’, says a spokesperson for the charity.

The charity says to create safe dry spaces in the garden, provide shelter and wildlife areas and even install a ‘hog house’.

It is also recommending that ponds have ‘escape ramps’ or a natural beach, allowing hogs the means of escape, as well as installing ‘hedgehog highways’, which allow hogs to move freely from garden to garden.

Leaving wet cat or dog food in jelly and fresh water everyday is also recommended by ELM Wildlife, which began in 2018

The charity has since become one of the biggest animal rescue charities in Devon, operating from its rescue centre at Seale Hayne.