THE RSPCA were called to rescue five baby hedgehogs who were found in a garden without their mum.

The tiny hoglets were found by a resident in their garden in Mill Street West, in Stockton last Wednesday.

They kept watch on the youngsters but they became concerned as they did not see the mother so they safely confined the hedgehogs and then contacted the RSPCA.

Animal Rescue Officer Shane Lynn went to the address and said the mother was nowhere to be seen and was concerned she may have come to some harm.

He collected the babies and could tell they were cold and warmed them up in his van using heat pads before taking them to a nearby vets for a check-up.

They were covered in fleas and needed treatment before they were then taken to Pawz for Thought animal rehabilitation centre in Sunderland where they are now receiving specialist care.

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Lyn Ebdale, founder and director of Pawz for Thought, said: “The babies were in need of urgent care and are being hand-reared on specialist milk every couple of hours by one of our dedicated volunteers.”

Mr Lynn said: “We always advise people to leave baby hedgehogs and monitor them as usually the mum returns and takes them off.

“In this case we think something had happened to the mum and the hedgehogs were orphaned so they really did need urgent help and am pleased to say they are doing well in specialist care.”

All the baby hogs will remain at the centre until they are strong enough to be released back into the wild.

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