'All I want people to do is leave a little saucer of water out': Hedgehog carer asks for public across West Midlands to do more to help wildlife in hot weather
A hedgehog carer has called on the public to do more to help wildlife suffering from the on-going heatwave.
Joan Lockley, who runs West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue in Cheslyn Hay, said she wanted people to put down bowls of water to help wildlife like hedgehogs during hot weather.
She said that as the weather was remaining hot, the ground was drying out and it was leaving hedgehogs and other animals suffering, with many being brought to her in poor condition.
She said: "There isn't any water on the ground as it's getting solid, which means there's no food either and what I'm finding is that 99.9 per cent of the hedgehogs being brought to me are so far gone and so dehydrated that I can't save them.
"All we ask is that people put out a bowl of water, but what I find is that people bring me hedgehogs and say they never left one out as they've never seen a hedgehog.
"To that, I say that you shouldn't see them as they're nocturnal and if you see one running around in the sunshine, then they're suffering terribly and are in trouble."
Ms Lockley said that hedgehogs were on the endangered list and she was probably one of the few hedgehog carers left in the area, looking after more than 800 hedgehogs a year.
She also urged people to make sure water was left out, saying that anything else was not a good idea.
She said: "I would ask that people just use ordinary tap water and please don't try and give them milk as they're lactose intolerant and that will either make them ill or even kill them.
"I'd recommend just a small bowl of water or even one of those bowls you put flowers in, while the concrete ones are best as they last forever and they can't be tipped over."
