A HEDGEHOG-themed activity day is taking place at Maidendale Nature Reserve this Sunday, October 4.

The free event is supported by the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and is aimed at giving families an insight into the secret life of one of Britain’s best-loved, but rapidly declining, wild mammals.

Activities will include an autumn nature discovery trail, top tips on how to make a hedgehog-friendly garden and a litter picking session to make the reserve safer for hedgehogs and other wildlife.

Participants will also get the chance to make their own clay model hedgehog.

All children must be accompanied by an adult and adults without children are also welcome to attend.

The events start from 10.30am and more information is available at www.tvgreenplaces.org.uk.

The day has been organised to highlight the plight of hedgehogs which have rapidly declined in population over the last 50-years.

Experts estimate that there were around 30million hedgehogs in the UK back in the 1950s, but today it is believed that there are less than one million living in the wild.

The reasons behind their demise include loss of habitat through new developments, poor management of hedgerows and the increase in vehicles on the roads which kill tens of thousands of hedgehogs each year.