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Hedgehog charity seeks £50k for new 'hogspital'

Martin Heath & Andy Collins
BBC News, Northamptonshire
BBC A brown and black hedgehog looking at the camera and snuggling in to a purple towel.BBC
Deanshanger Hedgehog Rescue currently helps about 250 hedgehogs each year

A couple who started a hedgehog rescue project in their back garden say they are now trying to raise £50,000 for a new, larger hospital.

Rachel and Dominic Matthews set up Deanshanger Hedgehog Rescue on the border of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire in 2021 and look after about 250 of the creatures each year.

They say they have now outgrown their current base, which includes two sheds and three hutches, and need bigger premises to run their charity.

At the moment, they say they are having to turn away animals because they do not have enough room.

The rescue centre was set up after the pair found a hedgehog that was clearly unwell.

They discovered that the nearest rescue facility was more than an hour away, so they decided to set one up in their own garden.

The current facilities include areas for first aid, treatment and rehabilitation to hedgehogs that have been found unwell, abandoned or injured.

Rachel Matthews with long blond hair and glasses and Dominic Matthews with short brown hair and glasses, both wearing black tops with a hedge logo, standing on grass with a conifer hedge in the background.
Rachel and Dominic Matthews set up the rescue centre in 2021

Mr Matthews said: "We're going on a big fundraising drive - we've got some land secured and we're just looking to build a bespoke 'hogspital'."

He said they wanted "to raise about £50,000 so we can find a more permanent home - we've just outgrown our sheds really.

"Last year, we saw over 250 hedgehogs. In the summer, we have to turn a lot of them away just because we're full so we're looking to double our capacity by having a more permanent home."

Dominic Matthews with short brown hair and glasses, wearing a dark top with one hand on a small set of digital weighing scales. There is a white heater or air conditioning device on the desk in front of him. An angle poise lamp is shining on the table. There is a door opening to the outside on the left, and a black plastic organiser with drawers to the right.
The rescue centre is currently based in sheds in the couple's garden

Their dream centre would have a small reception area, a large intensive care unit with incubators and a neonatal section for hoglets, and a rehabilitation room.

It would be around 12m (39ft) long and 4m (13ft) wide.

The charity hopes businesses will sponsor the centre and individual donors will also contribute.

Rachel Matthews with long blond hair and glasses and Dominic Matthews with short brown hair and glasses, both wearing black tops with a hedge logo. Dominic is writing in a book while Rachel is lifting a hedgehog into a blue and clear plastic carry cage.
The couple say they are having to turn some hedgehogs away as they have no room

Mr Matthews said it was worth protecting the small prickly animals because "they are a signal species - so if you've got hedgehogs in your environment, your environment's doing well.

"They're very good at pest control, so they will clear all your little caterpillars away, and they're just really great to have in your garden," he added.

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