6:42PM, Tue Jul 10, 2012

Sharp Exit: Orphaned Baby Hedgehogs Survive The Floods

By Joe Daunt and Alice Hedworth Location: North Tyneside

Video: Meet the baby hedgehogs rescued from the floods

A North Tyneside hedgehog rescue centre is nursing seven baby hoglets back to health after they escaped flash flooding.

Moira Simpson of Pricklepad Hedgehog Hospital in Forest Hall said it was the first time she had cared for so many babies.

She said: "I'm confident it's a result of the nest being flooded, perhaps the mother being killed and it's left their nest unattended.

"They've gone on to what we call glop which is a pulp food.

"Shortly they'll be weaned and be able to feed themsleves and hopefully I'll get some more sleep."

It comes as Ann Widdecombe and Simon Cowell back a campaign for a new law to prevent the animals sliding towards extinction.

The UK hedgehog population has plummeted to under one million - from around 36 million in the 1950s.

The Wildlife Aid Foundation's 'Save Harry' campaign calls for a Hedgehog Protection Act to reverse the decline.

The wildlife charity is proposing making wilful killing of hedgehogs illegal and introducing a mandatory code of practice to help conserve the species.

Hedgehogs are classed as a priority for conservation, but they are just one of more than a thousand species covered by wildlife initiatives.

Wildlife Aid Foundation's founder and director Simon Cowell said a protection law and mandatory code of practice would force Government agencies including Network Rail and the Highways Agency to treat the hedgehog's plight as critical.

He said: "I was privileged to grow up at a time when hedgehogs were commonplace. Sadly these wonderful little creatures are no longer a common sight in Britain's countryside.

"Unless we act now they could soon disappear altogether. I want future generations in Britain to be able to see our native hedgehogs."